Smartphone companies are launching their devices in China without Google Mobile Services since all Google platforms are banned in the Asian country. However, users could usually download them if they planned to use the phone outside of mainland China or through a VPN.
Unfortunately, Xiaomi users in China no longer have an easy option to do this. MIUI support staff announced that starting this month, Mi and Redmi phones, purchased without GMS preinstalled, will no longer be able to download them for free.
The devices that will be affected by this change are mainly Chinese-only phones, such as the powerful Mi 10 Ultra mobile phone, Redmi K30 Ultra and Redmi 10X series. Users who wish to have GMS are advised to opt for third party services such as the CoolAPK platform which allows sideloading of applications.
Many enthusiasts prefer to buy phones in China and then import them to their home country, either because of the lower cost or because they liked a model that is not available in their country. They have yet to rely on other platforms or embrace the non-Google life, which Huawei has been trying to do for the past two years.
Source (in Chinese) | Via
