Huawei OS Replacement For Android Scrapped After Trump Lifted Ban?

Huawei is still unsure of its future with Google’s Android mobile operating system even after President Donald Trump eased restrictions and allowed the country to sell generally available technologies to the Chinese smartphone maker.

Reuters reported that over the weekend, Trump “softened” his stance on Huawei and told attendees at the G20 Summit that the U.S. will allow the sales of “widely available” technology to the Chinese tech giant.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow explained, in an interview with Fox News, that these technologies include, “for example, some of the chips that chipmakers in the United States are selling, products that are widely available from other countries.” These chips or products, Kudlow believes, don’t pose a threat to “national security.”

Despite this development, the Chinese tech company remains unsure if it will be postponing or canceling its plans on using its proprietary mobile OS called “Hongmeng.” In an email to CNet, Huawei said it “acknowledges” the comments President Trump made allowing it to purchase generally available technologies but cannot say anything about using Android on its devices.

Huawei simply has "no further comment at this time," CNet said.

A backup plan

Previous reports indicated that Huawei was working on its own Hongmeng OS for a few years now -- starting in 2012. The company’s self-made OS was said to be created by experts observing both Android and Apple’s iOS for the iPhone.

The Chinese company has already filed requests to trademark Hongmeng OS, also known as Ark OS, in various countries including Australia, Canada, Cambodia, the European Union, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand. It is expected to completely take the place of Android, and is said to work on phones, tablets, TVs, and even cars.

Hongmeng is expected to provide support for Android apps, which gives the idea that it could be based on Android’s source code. While the OS can support Android apps, users can only download them through third-party apps like Huawei’s AppGallery as Hongmeng can’t run Google’s Play Store.

As of now, it’s unclear if Huawei’s upcoming phones and other devices will be able to use Android. Fans hoping to buy the company’s new devices are advised to wait for further updates.