Image Credit: Android Authority

The Android smartphone landscape is largely dominated by Google's influence. While the Android operating system itself is open-source, the familiar experience for most users outside China hinges on Google Mobile Services (GMS) – the suite including the Play Store, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and crucial background services. But could major players like Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, and the already-embattled Huawei build viable smartphones without Google's ecosystem? The answer is complex, blending technical possibility with immense market challenges.

Android's Two Faces: AOSP and GMS

At its heart, Android is the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). This is the foundational, open-source code that anyone can take and modify to build an operating system. Technically, any manufacturer can build a phone running AOSP without any licensing fees or direct involvement from Google. This is the "Google-free" Android in its purest form.

However, AOSP lacks the proprietary Google apps and services (GMS) that most international users rely on GMS is licensed separately by Google and includes:Google Play Store: The primary gateway for discovering and installing apps.
  • Google Play Services: Background services essential for push notifications, location services, and APIs many apps depend on.
  • Core Google Apps: Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Google Assistant, etc.Without GMS, the user experience changes dramatically, especially outside China where these services are deeply integrated into daily digital life. 

Huawei's Forced Experiment: A Cautionary Tale

Huawei provides the most significant real-world example. Following US sanctions in 2019, Huawei lost access to new GMS licenses for its devices. This severely hampered its international smartphone business, forcing it to pivot.
  • Huawei's response was twofold: HarmonyOS: While initially based on AOSP for smartphones, Huawei is developing HarmonyOS into a distinct platform, even reportedly removing Android app compatibility in newer versions.
  • Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) & AppGallery: Huawei invested heavily in building its own GMS alternatives (HMS Core) and an app store (AppGallery) to replace the Play Store.
Despite significant investment, HMS and AppGallery have struggled to gain widespread traction globally. While Huawei remains a major player in China (where GMS was largely absent anyway) and in telecom infrastructure, attracting international app developers and users to a GMS-free platform proved incredibly difficult. The existence of workarounds and guides to install GMS on HarmonyOS devices suggests continued user demand for Google's services.

Why Might Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus Consider Going Google-Free?

Unlike Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus currently operate freely with GMS globally. However, recent rumors (May 2025) suggest these companies, along with Vivo (part of the same BBK group as Oppo/OnePlus), are exploring the possibility of a Google-free Android, potentially as a collaborative effort and contingency plan Motivations could include:Geopolitical Hedging: Mitigating the risk of facing US sanctions similar to Huawei, especially amid renewed trade tensions.
  • Greater Independence: Reducing reliance on Google for core services and gaining more control over the software experience and user data.
  • Ecosystem Building: Developing proprietary services and app stores could create new revenue streams, particularly in markets where Google's hold is less absolute.
  • Leveraging Existing Efforts: These companies already operate without GMS in China, using customized AOSP builds and alternative app stores. Xiaomi's HyperOS is sometimes seen as laying groundwork for potentially greater independence.

The Monumental Challenges

While technically feasible using AOSP, creating a successful Google-free Android ecosystem for the global market faces enormous hurdles:Replacing GMS: Building a robust, feature-complete, and reliable alternative to the entire GMS suite (search, maps, mail, cloud storage, app store, payment systems, foundational APIs) is a colossal task requiring sustained, massive investment. Huawei's HMS journey highlights this difficulty.
  • The App Gap: The biggest challenge is replicating the vastness and utility of the Google Play Store. Convincing millions of developers worldwide to build for, adapt to, and maintain apps on yet another platform alongside iOS and Google's Android is difficult. Alternative stores like Huawei's AppGallery, F-Droid (for open-source apps), or Aurora Store (an anonymous Play Store client) exist but often lack the breadth, timeliness, or seamlessness of the official store. Managing submissions, payments, and compliance across multiple stores also adds complexity for developers.
  • User Acceptance: Users outside China are accustomed to the convenience and integration of Google services. Switching requires overcoming inertia, rebuilding trust, and offering a compelling value proposition that outweighs the loss of familiar apps and seamless integration. 
  • Fragmentation: If each company pursues its own distinct "Google-free" OS or service layer, it could lead to significant fragmentation, further complicating things for developers and users.

Conclusion: Possible, But Profoundly Difficult

Yes, it is technically possible for Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, and Huawei to build smartphones based on AOSP without Google Mobile Services. Huawei has already demonstrated this out of necessity.

However, the leap from technical possibility to creating a commercially viable, globally competitive product without GMS is immense. Huawei's struggles outside China underscore the deep integration of Google services into the user experience and the critical role of the Play Store's mature app ecosystem.

For Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus, pursuing a Google-free strategy globally seems more like a "worst-case scenario contingency plan" driven by geopolitical uncertainty rather than an immediate desire to abandon the GMS ecosystem that fuels their international success. While they might strengthen their non-GMS software for the Chinese market or explore alternatives as a backup, dethroning Google's ecosystem worldwide would require overcoming monumental technical, developer adoption, and user acceptance challenges. The path exists, but it's steep, costly, and fraught with risk.