Huawei would work on an alternative mobile operating system, replacing Android. The own OS could be useful if US sanctions cannot offer smartphones with the Android operating system.
The Chinese telecom manufacturer did not announce the news itself, but anonymous sources report to the South China Morning Post that Huawei’s own mobile operating system has been underway since 2012. The development started after an American investigation into the activities of Huawei and industry partner ZTE. The idea came from Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, and the development has continued as a kind of worst-case scenario.
That scenario might be possible due to the increased tensions between the United States and China. For example, ZTE is already in trouble because the US government has banned companies from doing business with the Chinese company. As a result, ZTE might also lose its Android license.
Huawei is also in the sights of the American government. For example, a study was recently started into the possible activities of Huawei in Iran. The authorities did this because of the possible export of telecom equipment to Iran when sanctions were imposed against that country. If the sanctions were actually circumvented, this could have consequences for Huawei.
According to the sources of the South China Morning Post Huawei has not yet released its own mobile operating system because it is not as good as Android and because there are few applications for it. A spokesman for the company said that there are no plans in the near future to issue their own OS, but did not want to go into the news.
