Huawei Testing New OS, Could Sell Hongmeng Smartphone This Year

The first batch of Huawei devices with the Hongmeng OS could be released this year. The release of this device could not only help the company recover from the trade ban, but this move could also further cement the company as one of the world’s leading smartphone companies.

Ahead of the launch, the Chinese smartphone company is reportedly running tests on a smartphone device which runs on the Hongmeng OS, according to Reuters. Huawei’s Hongmeng OS is the company’s take on smartphone operating systems. If the tests go well, the report noted that it is possible that the OS will be unveiled to the public by the end of the year.

The report did not go into more in-depth details about its specs or appearance. Huawei has yet to fully showcase how Hongmeng will be different from the iOS and Android systems. We’ll have to wait for more reports to see how Huawei proceeds with this development.

Huawei releasing a Hongmeng OS smartphone puts the company in an advantageous position on many fronts. With Microsoft pulling out of the smartphone OS provider market recently, Huawei could shake the competition up between Google and Apple with its entry.

Previously, Huawei relied on Google’s Android OS for its devices. Huawei chariman Liang Hua confirmed that the company was comfortable with Google’s OS, but its current situation has pushed Huawei not to rely on it in the long run.

Huawei is caught in the middle of the U.S. and China trade war where tariffs and permits are being placed on companies on both nations that are working together. This conflict’s effect hurts the affected companies’ bottomline as tariffs and permits would mean increased costs to do business. Huawei is greatly affected as it sees the U.S. as one of its largest audience for its products.

The company is betting on the Hongmeng OS as a “long-term strategy.” The OS would prepare the company if the U.S. trade ban affects it greatly and prohibits it from using Google technology. Moreover, the company is already known to be one of the big contenders, aside from Samsung and Apple, in the smartphone industry.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see what Huawei is planning with the Hongmeng OS.