Do You Need Google on a Huawei Tablet? My Experience After 1 Year

Huawei smartphones and tablets are often dismissed outside of China because they don’t come with Google Mobile Services (GMS). I bought a Huawei tablet over a year ago and forgot about the Google ban. I was supremely disappointed, of course, but over time, my opinion changed. Let me share my thoughts about the lack of Google access on my Huawei tablet.

The specific tablet I bought was the Huawei MatePad T10s. I don’t consider it the best smart device I own, but it does what I want well. Initially, I bought it to serve as an ebook reader, and you can get Kindle and other reading apps on Huawei AppGallery. Therefore, I didn’t complain too much. Before you buy a Huawei tablet yourself, here are some points to consider.

Is Having No Access to Google a Problem for You?

I admit that I only really found out about this a few days before writing this article, but Huawei tablets can download many apps from AppGallery and Petal Search. The latter can show third-party downloads as an option if the app you want isn’t on Huawei AppGallery. I also discovered that the tablet supported APKPure without a problem.

APKPure is perfect for downloading both common and obscure apps, and it will also update them. What changed my opinion on Huawei tablets instantly was GBox. This nifty app is available on Huawei AppGallery. With it, you can install GMS on your device without rooting it. I was beyond surprised when it actually worked after trying many root apps.

Of course, all Huawei tablets made after the ban don’t come with GMS. However, if you don’t need apps that require GMS, you can get by without it easily. I used Microsoft Edge as my main browser and had no issues.

Read: A Beginners Guide To Using Your Android Tablet

What Do You Want Out of the Tablet?

If you were like me looking for a larger screen to read ebooks, having no access to Google isn’t a problem. As I mentioned earlier, Kindle was available. If you want to read PDFs, you can also download WPS Office. 

While I’m not a mobile gamer, my Huawei tablet did come with plenty of game suggestions for me to download. Many games are available even without GMS, like Honkai Impact 3rd. Genshin Impact isn’t on AppGallery but is available as a third-party download. Even without Google, I was able to find other ways to download popular games.

YouTube isn’t an option without GMS, so getting a sideloader app like Gspace or GBox is necessary. You can’t root some older Huawei tablets even today, so getting GMS isn’t as straightforward. Fortunately, GBox is easy to download and install, so I was able to watch Youtube. There were some crashes here and there, but that may be a lack of RAM as my model only has 2GB.

You can still use a Huawei tablet for various purposes even without Google. Sideloading is easy. I used APKPure to download some of the best music apps for Android, and they ran flawlessly.

What I Think About My Huawei Tablet Without Google

In 2022, Huawei released LightHouse for some Huawei devices, allowing them to download GMS. This move accompanied the Malaysian release of Huawei’s Mate50 series smartphone. However, the MatePad T10s isn’t one of the supported devices. Additionally, you needed a Malaysian device to install LightHouse. 

Okay, my Huawei tablet now has GMS, but I spent a long time using it without GBox. I usually browsed the web and read some PDFs with my MatePad T10s. This arrangement worked well, and I had zero complaints. You can use a Huawei tablet without Google for most apps and purposes.

Who Shouldn’t Get a Huawei Tablet Without Google?

Assuming you have some technical know-how, you can easily configure your Huawei tablet to sideload Google apps. However, people who don’t like sideloading or aren’t confident in doing so should get a tablet with GMS built in. Sideloading is great, but many people prefer tablets that work with Google right out of the box. Therefore, those who aren’t tech-savvy or prefer not to use other app stores will feel right at home with other tablets.

Conclusion

Huawei tablets are perfectly functional even without Google, as there are many ways to get Android apps without the Google Play Store. You can now install GMS on any Huawei laptop using GBox, while some of the latest Huawei tablets let you install LightHouse. I was able to use my tablet without Google for over a year, so I’m sure you can too.

Sources

• Huawei — Introducing the LightHouse App
• Says.com — You Can Get Google Apps On The HUAWEI Mate50 Series And Other Selected Devices. Here’s How
• APKPure — Home Page
• Huawei AppGallery — LightHouse (also called microG Service)