Huawei says it has no plan to unveil Android replacement
China's tech giant Huawei said on Sunday that, for the foreseeable future, it has no plans to release its own operating system to replace Android.
People visit the Huawei stall at the 2017 International Consumer Electronics Show Asia in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. [Photo: IC]
A report published on Friday by Hong Kong-based South Morning Post cited people familiar with the matter who said that Huawei has been developing its own operating system since 2012. They said the move came after the United States launched an investigation into Huawei and several other Chinese companies. Huawei is developing not only its own version of Android on its smartphones, but also its own operating system for its tablets and personal computers.
In response to the report, Huawei told online news portal The Paper, "We focus on Android products, and we keep an open mind regarding the operating system for mobile devices. We are devoted to sustainable innovation as well as cooperation and the opening up of the industry in an effort to offer customers a comprehensive and high-quality experience."
Android is the most popular operating system in the global market. However, the U.S. government has the authority to ban the export of the operating system to foreign companies, which would come as a blow to companies like Huawei that use the Android platform. The resulting lack of reliable access to an operating system is one of the important reasons that drive the world's major hardware firms to develop their own, according to The Paper.