ZTE Could Lose Its Android License

ZTE Could Lose its Android License

BY Evan Selleck

Evan Selleck

Evan's a lover of all things technology, and he's got a major soft spot for the mobile industry. Give him some time and he'd be more than happy to talk your ear off about all the new and shiny things....

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Published 18 Apr 2018

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ZTE is facing some major issues lately, but it looks like it may be getting a lot worse before it gets better.

According to a new report from Reuters, ZTE’s future with Android may be short. The publication cites information gathered from an unnamed source and states that ZTE may be losing its Android license in the future. The decision is reportedly directly related to the smartphone manufacturer’s troubles with the United States government.

If ZTE loses its Android license, the company will not be able to launch any devices that use Google’s mobile operating system. That would be a critical blow for the smartphone manufacturer, which is one of many that relies on Google’s mobile OS for its products.

This week, the United States government enacted an export ban related to ZTE, which means that American companies like Dolby and Qualcomm cannot sell their goods to ZTE. As a result, ZTE can’t use products from those companies. That’s a big blow on its own.

Tie it in with this latest report and it looks pretty dire. The silver lining here is that while Google and ZTE are currently in discussions about what happens next, as of Tuesday morning neither company had reached a decision. So it’s possible that ZTE will not lose its Android license.

[via Reuters]