Huawei makes some of the best smartphones around but due to U.S. sanctions, app availability has taken a hit as the company's phones can no longer has access Google software, including the Play Store. For consumers who are switching over to a new Huawei phone, there's software to help transfer over apps from older phones that may not be available in the Huawei ecosystem.

Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump banned American companies from doing business with Huawei after the Chinese company allegedly violated U.S. sanctions against Iran. In terms of hardware, the company has mostly managed by manufacturing parts itself and dealing with other suppliers in Asia. However, since Google is an American company, it is also banned from doing business with Huawei. This means that newer phones can't use Google's official version of Android, nor can it come with Google apps installed, including the Google Play Store. Starting with the Mate 30 released last fall, every new Huawei phone comes with its own EMUI 10.1 software on top of the open-source version of Android 10.

Related: Huawei Closed The Gap With Samsung As Smartphone Sales Declined In Q2

In lieu of the Play Store, the phones come with the Huawei AppGallery, which, while growing, cannot compete in terms of app selection. However, there are workarounds. One such app is Huawei Phone Clone, which is a great solution for people who are upgrading their phones. Phone clone apps aren't particularly unique. Many smartphone manufacturers offer similar apps to transfer data from an old phone to a new one — and third-party options exist as well. But Huawei Phone Clone offers a relatively seamless experience, allowing users to easily transfer their data, contacts, and even apps to their new devices.

How To Use Huawei Phone Clone

The first step is to install the app on both the phones. It's available in the Play Store, Huawei AppGallery, and the App Store (for iOS users). The first screen will ask whether the phone is the new device, which will receive the data or the old device that will send it. On the new device, the user will be asked if the old device is a Huawei phone, another Android phone or an iPhone/iPad. On the next screen, the new device will show a QR code to set up a link between the two devices. After the other phone is set up as the old device, the app launches a QR scanner using the phone's camera to scan the code and link the phones together. If there are connection problems, the user can make a manual connection by logging the old phone directly into the Wi-Fi hotspot. The login information is provided under the QR code on the new device's screen.

Once connected, the old device loads a list with checkboxes so the user can choose what content to clone over to the new phone. This data includes contacts, text and call logs, calendar items, system settings as well as other files, such as music, photos and documents. These selections can be expanded, but more importantly, users can also transfer the old phone's apps, many of which, may not be available in the Huawei AppGallery. If "apps and data" is expanded, the user can pick and choose which apps to move over. Though, not everything can be cloned. Obviously, it depends what the user has installed on the old phone, but some apps might be listed as "non-transferable," while others could be listed as "not supported yet." There may be even some apps that get cloned to the new phone but don't actually work once installed. Although Huawei Phone Clone should transfer the bulk of the old phone's apps, not counting Google ones, to the new device without any major issues. For any that don't make it, users might be able to find an alternative through the Huawei AppGallery.

More: Huawei & ZTE Officially Declared National Security Threats By The FCC

Source: Huawei