With the recent tensions surrounding Huawei and the U.S., Huawei’s own Hongmeng/Oak OS has received quite a bit of attention. With Huawei executives reportedly stating that the OS would be ready to go “in a few months” earlier, it seems that the Chinese tech giant have changed their plans.
But with the restrictions on Huawei’s dealings with U.S. companies partially lifted after the G20 Summit 2019 in Osaka, this doesn’t come as that big of a surprise. Huawei revealed to us at a press conference today that they will be sticking to Android for now. Bill Liu, the Country Director for Huawei Malaysia, explained that Huawei devices will stay on Android for the foreseeable future.
In the coming future, we will still be an avid supporter of the Android ecosystem and we hope to fully participate in the development of future Android ecosystems.”
He did, however, concede that if there are any circumstances in the future whereby Huawei is barred from the Android ecosystem, Huawei will find a backup plan.
It’s safe to assume that Huawei will continue to develop and refine its Hongmeng OS. The difference now is Huawei has a longer runway to develop its OS into a feasible alternative to Android.
I also queried Bill Liu on whether the upcoming Android Q will be making its way to Huawei’s future devices, with the Beta version of the OS update currently ongoing. Unfortunately, he couldn’t give us a timeline, although he referred to Huawei’s slogan: “Make It Possible”. Could this mean that Huawei is making efforts to ensure their devices receives the best and brightest that Android will have to offer in the future?
Coupled with the fact that Huawei will be continuing to fully engage in the development of future Android ecosystems and will continue to be “avid supporters” of Android, it’s probable.
