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Huawei may have a backup OS in case it has to drop Android
It'd be hard to blame Huawei executives if they're feeling very nervous lately. The US has created havoc for ZTE by renewing an export ban over trade violations, potentially depriving it of its Android license and leaving it without a platform. How would Huawei avoid a similar fate? Simple: it would use its own operating system instead. South China Morning Post sources have claimed that Huawei has been developing its own mobile operating system (there are reportedly tablet and PC equivalents) ever since it and ZTE faced an American investigation in 2012. It's considered an investment for "worst-case scenarios," the insiders said.
The company hasn't released this OS because it isn't up to Android's level of quality and app support, the sources added.
Huawei hasn't confirmed or denied the software's existence, saying only that it "has no plans" to launch an in-house OS in the "foreseeable future" -- if there is one, there's no rush to use it. There was a purported meeting leak in 2012 that referenced a new platform.
See also: ZTE and the Unknown Unknowns
Related: U.S. Intelligence Agency Heads Warn Against Using Huawei and ZTE Products
Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
(Score: 3, Interesting) by toddestan on Wednesday May 02 2018, @03:23AM
It wouldn't surprise me at all if they are doing just that. Most of the development work would involve replacing things like the Google Play Store and perhaps some of the Google apps which they presumably would not have access too. It's also likely they wouldn't be able to use the Android trademark and would have to call it something else, which could be the source of the confusion.