Huawei phones are very popular, but the same cannot be said about its software, especially among the developers. As a result, the VLC media player has blacklisted Huawei smartphones.
Why VLC blacklisted Huawei smartphones?
VLC media player is a very popular app for viewing local media, and over the years, the Android app has only been getting better. But somehow, Huawei smartphones have not been very supportive of the app, hence, VLC creator VideoLAN blacklisted Huawei smartphones. VideoLAN announced its decision via a tweet, saying Huawei smartphones would no longer be able to download VLC from Google Play.
PSA: @HuaweiMobile phones are now blacklisted and cannot get VLC on the Play Store.
Their ridiculous policy of killing all background apps (except their own) breaks VLC audio background playback (of course).
See https://t.co/QzDW7KbV4I and many other reports…@HuaweiFr— VideoLAN (@videolan) July 25, 2018
VideoLAN’s decision is a first of its kind. However, according to the company, it has been forced to take such a step due to the “ridiculous” way in which Huawei’s software handles background apps. Further, VideoLAN notes that Huawei’s software actively blocks the background activities from apps that are not from Huawei.
Such a policy from Huawei, according to VideoLAN, is hurting VLC as background play stops working. What VideoLAN is saying is actually true as on VideoLAN’s forums one can see several users suffering from the same issue. Also, Play Store reviews prove that the Huawei smartphones are experiencing the same problem.
Huawei killing background apps, according to The Verge, is mainly due to its aggressive battery management tactics. Users, however, have the option to manually disable such battery optimizations to ensure that VLC app runs properly. VLC, however, claims that an average user don’t know this, and hence blames the app, giving it negative reviews.
VideoLAN clears that its decision affects all Huawei devices (both old and new). Huawei users, who still want to use the VLC, can always download the APK file from its website.
VLC is among the biggest app in its segment, so its decision will surely send a strong message to Huawei. Going ahead, there are chances that VLC will be made available to the Huawei phones, provided the Chinese company changes its policy towards the third-party background apps.
A report from TrustedReviews claims that other mainstream music-playing apps like Spotify or Pocket Casts are not facing the same problem as the VLC app. There are chances that Huawei may be giving a pass to more popular apps, or possibly it may be killing the VLC app due to it consuming more power.
Huawei’s growing ambitions
This comes as bad publicity for the Chinese company, who just last week announced that it crossed 100 million shipment mark. Huawei CEO Richard Yu announced about the milestone in a blog post, adding that the company hopes to hit the 200 million mark by the end of the year. If the Chinese company does achieve the goal, it will become a big threat to Apple, who is currently the second-biggest phone maker.
In the second quarter last year, Huawei came very close to Apple’s iPhone sales numbers, selling 38.5 million phones against 41 million by the US company. In 2017, Apple shipped about 220 million phones. For Huawei, this is undoubtedly a great achievement considering its US debut has not been smooth.
And, if the latest reports are to be believed, Huawei could very well achieve the sales number that it plans to. A Nikkei report out of China claims that the Chinese company is planning to come up with a foldable smartphone before Samsung. The Korean firm recently announced that its upcoming “unbreakable” flexible phone screen had been certified for being extra tough and durable.
Huawei, however, is expected to hasten the process and come up with foldable handsets as early as next year. Huawei is reportedly working with the OLED panels from Chinese supplier BOE. It is the same company that has reportedly secured orders from Apple for iPhone’s LCD screens.
BOE is rapidly improving its display business and has plans to delve further into OLED production and innovation. The company has already shown some foldable phone-tablet hybrid prototype. Thus, the report seems believable that Huawei may come up with foldable handsets sooner. Past trends favor Huawei as well.
In 2014, when Apple was rumored to use a sapphire crystal display, Huawei was quick to launch a limited edition Huawei Ascend P7 Sapphire (Apple never used the tech though). Then in 2015, Huawei beat Apple in introducing Force Touch. Now, the company is reportedly pursuing foldable handsets to beat Samsung this time.
