THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Friday, September 20, 2019 |B5
TECHNOLOGY WSJ.com/Tech
ban destroyed this industry,
and it’s harmful to U.S. compa-
nies’ businesses, too.”
Huawei’s attorneys argued in
court Thursday that a separate
law barring it from doing busi-
ness with U.S. government
agencies is unconstitutional be-cause it selectively targets the
company for punishment.
Thursday’s presentation of
the new devices offered a
glimpse at some glossy fea-
tures, like a wraparound dis-
play screen and a movable
shutter button, but little clarityaround some of the most press-
ing questions about the Mate
30—such as how users could
access specific Google apps,
and precisely when and where
the smartphone will go on sale.
While Mr. Yu said users
may still be able to downloadGoogle’s apps, either through
App Gallery, Huawei’s proprie-
tary app store, or from other
channels, he didn’t specify
which apps would be available
or where. Mr. Yu said Huawei
opted to launch the Mate 30
with the open-source Android
platform rather than its own
nascent proprietary platform,
HarmonyOS, because it wants
to stay in good graces with Al-
phabet Inc.’s Google, which
has run Android services on
earlier smartphones.
Harmony, unveiled last
month, was originally devel-
oped to run on Huawei gadgets
including wearable devices and
TVs, but not smartphones. In-
dustry experts have been skep-
tical that the operating system
would be ready for the Mate
30’s launch, especially outside
China where it is already avail-
able to mixed reviews.
Mishaal Rahman, editor in
chief of XDA Developers, an
online forum for software de-
velopers, said Huawei has
some experience catering to
customer demand in different
markets.
In China, where Google ser-
vices are blocked, Huawei al-
ready configures its phones
with settings in the back-
ground that make it possible
for any Google apps to bedownloaded to the device—for
instance, when those phones
get exported to countries
where Google apps are allowed,
he added. The background set-
tings can make it seem like
Google’s apps are simply “dor-
mant apps waiting for you.”
Google is among a number
of U.S. companies seeking per-
mission from the Commerce
Department to resume supply-
ing Huawei, according to a per-
son familiar with the matter.
Sales for the Mate 30 de-
vice, which is priced starting
at €1,099 ($1,214), will be
closely watched as Huawei
competes for market share in
Europe, the company’s most
important market for smart-
phones outside China.
A Huawei spokesman said
the phones will first go on sale
in Asia next month, followed
by Europe, but a specific itin-
erary of where the phones will
be sold and when wasn’t im-
mediately available.
While Huawei devices are
virtually unavailable in the U.S.,
sales in Europe are competi-
tive. In 2018, Samsung Elec-
tronics Co. took top billing on
the continent with a 31% share
of the market, followed closely
behind by both Apple and Hua-
wei with 22% share apiece, ac-
cording to data from Canalys.MUNICH— Huawei Tech-
nologies Co. unveiled its first
smartphone devoid of Google’s
most popular apps, a byprod-
uct of the U.S.-China trade dis-
pute that could complicate the
Chinese technology giant’s ef-
forts to stoke demand for its
consumer products outside
China.
Since the company was
added to the U.S. Commerce
Department’s “entity list” in
May, it has been effectively
blocked from buying U.S.-
sourced technology. This
means Huawei’s new Mate 30
phone series will run on an
open-source version of
Google’s Android operating
system, which doesn’t include
the Play app store and other
Google apps typically built
into Huawei devices such as
Google Maps and YouTube.
The Commerce Department
cited national security concerns
as a reason to place Huawei
and its affiliates on the list.
“The U.S. government forced
us to do this, and we have no
other solution,” said Richard
Yu, Huawei’s chief executive of
consumer businesses. “The U.S.
By Sara Germano ,
Dan Strumpf
and Parmy OlsonHuawei Unveils Android Phone Without Key Apps
The Mate 30 runs on an open-source version of Android that doesn’t include the Play app store.cisco, lets people list their
properties or homes for rent on
its marketplace. The company
was founded a little more than
a decade ago and now has list-
ings in over 100,000 cities.
It has worked to expand its
operations in recent years,
launching a service for custom-
ers to book experiences and
tours in various cities as wellas acquiring firms such as fur-
nished-apartment marketplace
Urbandoor. The company also
recently led a $20 million fund-
ing round in travel site Atlas
Obscura, a deal that would al-
low Airbnb to collect a portion
of the proceeds from customers
who book Atlas Obscura trips
on Airbnb’s app or website.
The announcement Thursday
came one day after Airbnb said
revenue topped $1 billion in the
second quarter of this year,
which is the second time it has
done so.
Airbnb’s revenue last year
rose 40% from the year prior,
The Wall Street Journal previ-
ously reported, citing a person
familiar with the matter.Airbnb Inc. expects to go
public next year, the company
said Thursday, the latest multi-
billion-dollar startup seeking to
tap new capital and increase its
investor base.
The home-sharing giant of-
fered no other details about its
plans to become publicly traded.
The Wall Street Journal previ-
ously reported that Airbnb was
planning to go public in the first
half of next year, citing people
familiar with the situation.
The company has also
weighed pursuing a direct list-
ing, according to people famil-
iar with the matter, similar to
how Slack Technologies Inc.
BYALLISONPRANG
Home-Sharing Giant Airbnb Weighs Direct Listing Next Year
The company now features listings in over 100,000 cities.GLYN KIRK/AGENCE FANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGESMICHAELA HANDREK-REHLE/BLOOMBERG NEWS$31B
Market valuation as of
March 2017and Spotify Technology SA
went public. In a direct listing,
a company places its stock on
a public exchange without
raising any money or using
underwriters.
Airbnb is among the most
valuable closely held companies
in the world, with a valuation
of $31 billion as of March 2017,
according to Dow Jones Ven-
tureSource data.
However, highly anticipated
startups Uber Technologies
Inc. and Lyft Inc. suffered set-
backs in their market debuts
earlier this year. Meanwhile,
WeWork parent, the We Co.,
delayed plans for its own IPO
earlier this week.
Airbnb, based in San Fran-© 2019 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ7475Annual
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