slide 1: HongMeng OS: How Far Do We Know About It
Chinese company Huawei has decided to use their own operating system
on their phones after the suspension of their Android license by Google.
Long back even before Google’s decision the consumer business head
Richard Yu said in an interview that they had prepared their own operating
systems known as “HongMeng OS” and no longer requires other systems.
However they would still prefer to work with the huge ecosystems of
Google and Microsoft.
Hongmeng OS also known as Ark OS and Homegrown OS is an
Android-app compatible OS which is still under the development phase by
slide 2: Huawei since 2012 for their future technology products. Although there is
limited information provided as the OS is still not officially released to the
public here is what we have dug up so far
1. Launching this Fall or Before Spring 2020
According to state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times Richard Yu
said that Huawei’s Hongmeng OS will be launching soon in September
2019 to the end of May 2020.
2. They’d Still Prefer Google and Microsoft Software
Yu stated that they would still prefer using the huge ecosystems of
Microsoft and Google software but as they don’t have any other choice
they have to build their own operating system.
3. HongMeng will be a Universal OS Across Multiple
Device Types
According to the Global Times Yu stated like Apple has iOS for iPhones
and MacOS for its computers Google has Chrome OS for Chromebook
laptops and Android for mobile the HongMeng OS they are building would
be a comprehensive system and can be used on Huawei’s PC TV
Smartphone Tablet and Smart Wearable devices. It would be compatible
with nearly all the Android apps as well.
slide 3: 4. Currently the HongMeng OS is in Trial
It is no surprise that OS is in trial since 2012 when Huawei first arrived in
the US. Huawei says it has been ready since January 2018 but didn’t
release the OS to maintain its relationships with Google and other
US-based partners. However now that other big fat businesses have cut
their ties due to the presidential order Huawei will reportedly launch the OS
in China by late 2019 and a global release somewhere in 2020.
5. Acknowledging Difficulties
Founder Ren Zhengfei CEO of Huawei admitted that building an OS is not
that difficult as compared to building an ecosystem for the same. It needs
a step by step process with stringent guidelines to make it a successful
launch. He also added that beyond the technical challenges it is going to
take years to build trust and confidence among app makers and users to its
adoption.
Wrapping Up
All we can do is wait till 2020 for its official launch. Till date the name of
the OS has not been confirmed or officially announced.
According to Bloomberg reports Huawei introduced an app gallery which
was an attempt to build its own app store way before the Android ban. In
slide 4: order to find out the success of the OS functionalities features and the
ecosystem of Huawei’s HongMeng OS you need to wait till it is officially
launched.