Last week, reports surfaced online claiming that Huawei has plans to ditch Google’s Android OS in favor of its own OS. This was of interest to many people since Huawei is one of the top smartphone manufacturers out there and for them to ditch Android in favor of its own proprietary OS is bad news for Google.
Well, it looks like Huawei will not be ditching Android anytime soon as long as Google keeps it open. Huawei’s CEO, Richard Yu, said this on the Chinese social networking site, Weibo. The interesting bit is that, before the reports about Huawei’s proprietary OS surfaced, whispers in the tech space had suggested that Google had plans to exert more control over the mobile platform. This was seen as a reaction from Huawei as it protects its business.
Even though the CEO says that they will continue using Android, the key world here is that the company will continue doing so as long as it is open. He did not refute claims that the company may release devices powered by its own OS. This means that that plan is still on the table, at least for now.
Saying that they will continue using Android as long as it is open means that the company is seeing a future where Google tightens things up on the platform. Richard Yu went ahead to say that Android’s openness is what has helped it grow to where it is right now and this can be translated to mean that he does not see any point of messing it up. This is sort of a message to Google not to touch the platform.
Does an in-house OS make sense?
Right now, the question to ask is, does having an in-house OS make sense? My answer is, probably no. A good OS is not just about that, it is also about the whole ecosystem hat involves the apps and this is what Microsoft is struggling with as it tries to push users to use Windows. The company already has its own custom UI (EMUI) and I think they should stick with that.
Samsung has tried its luck with Tizen OS but as you probably already know, it has not picked up. The OS is only available on its devices and most of them are sold in developing markets, most of them in Asia. Huawei should learn a few lessons from this a try to either stick to the OS or partner with the other OEMs to launch a different OS that will be popular among the manufacturers and this may help it reach more users and thus developers may embrace it.
Huawei may also want to make it possible for developers to port their apps from Android to the platform. This can be a good way to make sure that this new platform has enough apps if end users are to love it.
Personally am not excited to see a new OS from Huawei. I would prefer they stick to Android rather than try to build a new OS from the scratch.
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