Huawei Wants to Replace Google Search

Huawei Wants to Replace Google Search With Its Own Search Engine

March 4, 2020

Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.

Huawei’s billboard at PT Expo, Beijing, China, October 31, 2019. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP.

Replace Google Search. That is the purpose of Huawei, which is developing an Internet search engine for its mobile devices, according to the media XDA, which participated in the testing of the beta version of that application which the Chinese technology began to develop last week.

Huawei Search works as a basic search engine that helps to find websites, news, videos or images on the Internet, while offering shortcuts to consult information about the weather or currency exchange.

However, this solution is not connected to other programs, while Alphabet’s company search engine does have links to utilities such as “podcasts” or Google Assistant.

This service is operated by Aspiegel Limited -Huawei’s subsidiary in Ireland- and could work on the Chinese technology’s own search engine, without the need to incorporate external search programs.

Although at first the company invited anyone to participate in this initiative, as of February 29th it stopped the beta testing of Huawei Search because of its “concerns” related to the “misuse” of the app in social media.

The Chinese technology company has promoted this project because it cannot use certain US technology services since 2019.

It also happens that some Huawei mobiles cannot use certain Google services since last year, when the US government blacklisted the Chinese firm, preventing it from acquiring components from US companies without Washington’s approval.