Whether we like it more or less, the reality is that the majority of Spanish users use Google services Maps, Gmail, Chrome, some links that are sent to us via Google Drive. It is possible to live without Google, yes, in its world nerds (Longevity nerds, BDtechsupport we are). But in the “real world” this is not a very attractive option.
I recently got to review the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra. A phone whose software I don’t like but, curiously, my complaint was related to bloatware and the EMUI design language: Google services weren’t a problem (or, at least, not a big one).
i want to tell you State of Google Services on Huawei Mobile in 2024As a user who isn’t willing to give them up, I found myself surprisingly comfortable during my review of this device.
Thanks to Microji
Its mobile Huawei may have Google services. Not officially because of the US blockade, but thanks to Microji. This open source project has been alive for years, and it’s not just focused on Huawei: its much less intrusive package of Google services (with fewer apps) has given life to many custom ROMs.
“While the core of the operating system is still part of the Android Open Source Project, most of the core applications are not. And what’s worse: there are more and more libraries and APIs that are only available on phones that come with several Google applications pre-installed. , which allows third-party applications to For all these reasons, Android is described as an open “see but don’t touch MicroG” system, limiting it to the Google ecosystem.
As its developers explain, although AOSP is an open source operating system, the reality is that Google is building an ecosystem dependent on its GAPPS. Without Google services, many apps cannot function.
Likewise, Android’s package of Google apps and services included out of the box comes with a fairly high presence of its own apps. We won’t use them much, but they can’t be uninstalled.
MicroG is an alternative to these stock Google services, and consists of the following components:
- Service Core (GmsCore)– A library application that provides functions required to run applications that use Google Play Services or the Google Maps Android API (v2).
- Services Framework Proxy (GsfProxy)– A small helper utility that allows applications designed for Google Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) to use the compatible Google Cloud Messaging service included in GmsCore.
- Unified Network Location Provider (UnifiedNLP)– A library that provides Wi-Fi and cell tower-based geolocation for applications that use Google’s network location provider. It is included in GmsCore, but can work independently on most Android systems.
- Maps API (mapsv1)– is a system library that provides the same functionality as the deprecated Google Maps API (v1).
- shop (phonesky)– It is a frontend application that makes it easy to access the Google Play Store to download and update applications Currently, development is in early stages and there are no usable apps yet.
Although MicroG is made of all these components, installation is quite simple. You only need to install three APK files:
We install the APK, restart the phone and… that’s it. The phone will access Google services like any other (almost). I still remember when I had to install Huawei P40 Pro services: it was a real hell.
WhatsApp (backed up to Google Drive), Chrome, Gmail, YouTube… even Gemini. (Almost) everything works perfectly. And I had to settle for “almost”, because some games like ‘PUBG Mobile’ didn’t work for me with a Google account, since they didn’t recognize the version of GMS I was using. Google Pay also does not work, so this phone is not suitable for mobile payments with this solution.
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