Maybe because the US vs. Huawei war has had a noticeable impact on laypeople.
I can understand why they remove network equipment and have no problem with that, but as a happy Huawei smartphone user from a non-US country, I'm still pissed that I need to change to another brand (and I don't see anything on the market that is as attractive, by far) because a foreign government decided to cripple this one.
I know, in theory I could go without Google, no one is banning Huawei from selling their phones to me. In practice, that's not feasible when e.g. your everyday banking apps rely on Google services. For all intents and purposes, a foreign government has banned me from using the phones I like. Imagine how many Americans would feel if new iPhones stopped being useful due to some foreign political offensive. This is similar (Huawei was the top-selling phone brand in my country). Thus, many people are interested in this kind of news about Huawei, even if they don't understand what network hardware is.
As a consumer, the tech war made me realize how the availability of my daily digital infrastructure relies on the whims of largely unaccountable corporations and governments.
I know what you mean about bank apps working only on unrooted Android devices and only with Google Play Services. It's an OS- and device specific restriction, because the desktop website does not have these limitations (besides 2FA, which is understandable).
The solution for me was to wait until I have my laptop on me to do banking. But I understand that not everyone will have this ability due to the nature of their business or workflow.
I can understand why they remove network equipment and have no problem with that, but as a happy Huawei smartphone user from a non-US country, I'm still pissed that I need to change to another brand (and I don't see anything on the market that is as attractive, by far) because a foreign government decided to cripple this one.
I know, in theory I could go without Google, no one is banning Huawei from selling their phones to me. In practice, that's not feasible when e.g. your everyday banking apps rely on Google services. For all intents and purposes, a foreign government has banned me from using the phones I like. Imagine how many Americans would feel if new iPhones stopped being useful due to some foreign political offensive. This is similar (Huawei was the top-selling phone brand in my country). Thus, many people are interested in this kind of news about Huawei, even if they don't understand what network hardware is.