Huawei makes Forbes most valuable brands list

Apple has topped Forbes's 100 most valuable brands list for the ninth consecutive year. Valued at $205.5 billion, Apple is the first company to cross the $200 billion threshold, Forbes said.

Google follows Apple in the rankings with a value of $167.7 billion, up 23 percent on last year, followed by Microsoft ($125.3 billion) and Amazon ($97 billion).

Huawei, valued at $8 billion, came in 97th, the only Chinese brand on the list.

The 100 most valuable brands are worth a combined $2.33 trillion, up eight percent on last year. Tech companies were the top gainers, led by e-commerce giant Amazon, up 37 percent to $97 billion.

In the past few days, Huawei has found itself in a strange situation with the US Government. The result of a total Huawei ban has caused many American companies to cut ties and partnerships with the Chinese smartphone maker.

Not only was Huawei's Android license revoked for future devices, but it was even pulled from the Android Q beta program and ARM, whose designs are used in Kirin processors, also has ceased ties with Huawei to comply with the US' drastic new policy. Although the US delayed the ban for 90 days, Huawei is already thinking of a backup plan, should the ban go back into effect. Huawei has reportedly asked app developers to submit their applications to the App Gallery - Huawei's own App Store akin to the Galaxy Apps Store on Samsung phones.

This is Huawei's immediate back-up since many Huawei and Honor phones already come with the App Gallery preinstalled. A Portuguese media outlet reports that Aptoide, an open source alternative to the Google Play Store with more than 900,000 apps and more than 100 million users is negotiating with Huawei to develop a viable alternative to the Play Store. Remember, part of the Huawei ban is

Huawei's Android license from

that Google is revoked. This means Huawei would need to resort to AOSP builds for Android and it won't be allowed to ship devices with Google Play Services. Huawei's Android license remains intact during the 90-day delay.

Huawei is also reportedly trying to get European telecoms to offer the App Gallery on Huawei and Honor phones out of the box to help remedy the situation. As for the possible partnership with Aptoide, we'll have to see how Huawei plans to implement it, should this ban be permanent and detrimental to Huawei's smartphone business.

Moreover, Chinese technology giant Huawei unveiled the latest phones in its Honor 20 series at a global launch event in London on Tuesday, in spite of growing pressure on the company caused by United States' government restrictions.

Citing national security concerns, the US administration has added the technology company to a trade blacklist, which means US companies are now banned from trading with software.

Because of the trade bans, Google announced on Monday it has restricted Huawei's access to updates of its Android operating system and to some mobile services. But at the unveiling of the Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro at the Battersea Evolution venue in the United Kingdom capital, the company proudly shared its new phones with the world's media in spite of the US trade ban.

The devices feature Huawei's flagship Kirin 980 processor, quad rear cameras, and side-mounted fingerprint scanners, all fronted by a large,16 centimeter "all-view" display and 32-megapixel selfie camera.

The Honor 20 Pro will retail for 599 euros ($669), while the Honor 20 will sell for 499 euros, which equates to 399 pounds in the UK. The newly unveiled Honor 20 series line-up was already certified under processes known as the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) and the Vendor Test Suite (VTS) before the trade

it in components and ban came into effect and, because of that certification, will not be directly impacted by the ban, at least for now.

But critics warn that matters may become more complex when it comes to future security updates.

Huawei Technologies Co confirmed this week it will continue to provide security updates and after-sales service for all of its smartphone and tablet products, including those that have already been sold globally, and those in its stockpiles.