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Google is making sure future Android phones offer users these safety and emergency options
Required options for GMS access
Google Mobile Services — or GMS — is such an essential suite of apps for Android users, devices without it often have a hard time finding an audience. With Chrome, YouTube, Maps, and more all bundled together, some of today's most vital apps are all included in one single package. To qualify for GMS, manufacturers have to meet a set of standard requirements. A new rule for Android 12 puts a focus on the "Safety & emergency" settings page on your phone, ensuring every Android user has a baseline level of protection against allergic reactions, earthquakes, and more.
Honor phones are getting the apps they need to matter in 2021
Good news for competition in the mid-range market
Huawei's unfortunate US sanctions cut the company down in its prime, and we missed out on some of the best Android camera phones ever made because of it. Its sub-brand Honor was putting out products almost as good for a fraction of the price, too. Thankfully, it looks like Honor's next flagship smartphone is going to mark the return of Google apps and services.
Huawei hangs onto Google apps with second P30 Pro re-release
Should we expect another one of these in 6 months?
As the U.S. continues to shun Huawei away from using any of its suppliers, the Chinese manufacturer is keen on retaining its foreign audience who are fans of their hardware but won't use an Android phone without Google apps. Enter the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition, the second reboot of the P30 Pro launched a year after the original P30 Pro came about.
Google is not the largest search provider in Russia, but that didn't stop market leader Yandex from filing an anti-monopoly complaint against Google earlier this year. Now the Russian Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) has quite predictably sided with Yandex. According to FAS, Google illegally required Android device makers in Russia to include its apps and services alongside the Play Store.