Huawei Tests Smartphone With Own OS, Could Potentially Start Selling Them Later This Year

Huawei is testing a smartphone equipped with Hongmeng, the company's self-developed operating system, which could potentially go on sale by the end of this year, Chinese state-media outlet Global Times reported. From a report: The release of a Hongmeng-powered smartphone would mark a major step for China's Huawei, the world's second-biggest maker of smartphones, as U.S. government actions threaten its access to Google's Android operating system. The device will be priced at around 2,000 yuan ($288), the Global Times said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources. That will place the device toward the low-end segment of the smartphone market. Huawei executives have previously described Hongmeng as an operating system designed for internet-of-things products. Last month the company said the first major devices powered by Hongmeng would be its upcoming line of Honor-brand smart TVs.

Re: Honor brand?

[Cmdln Daco]

Can Applephones be bootstrapped to run this replacement OS? Because it could end up being the only cellphone OS allowed in China. Apple is probably evaluating this in case they need to comply.

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[RoccamOccam]

This is just a troll trying to give Rust a bad name by dragging it into conversations unnecessarily.

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[bill_mcgonigle]

> In China, you must do whatever you are told.

  Do they call it a National Security Letter there too?

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[Anonymous Coward]

They don't have laws in China, they have bribes and they have powerful families. You don't get a letter, you get disappeared to a secret prison camp without any laws because you pissed off the Grand Imperial ChiCom faggot.

You want to go live there, go for it apologist.

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[BarbaraHudson]

Are we forgetting the history of racism in the USA that allowed non-whites to be bought and sold, hunted down and lynched when they ran away, bought and sold, etc?

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[BarbaraHudson]

All your major telecoms have been giving the government direct access to 100% of their traffic since the 90s, so China would just be playing catch-up.

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[BarbaraHudson]

Nobody believes anything Alexander Peter Kowalski says. All his bragging is for stuff he wrote independently, because he has never been employed in the industry to write software.

As for his shareware, nobody would hire him based on that. He tried to build a brand using his APK Hosts File, but over the decades he didn't even have the money to get a website. The reason is simple - spending all your time spamming and picking fights with people who tell you to stop spamming and fuck off already means you are

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[Anonymous Coward]

China's government practices centralized planned state-owned economics, loosely organized by oligarchic cabalism and powerful rich families. Saying it's "not communist" is kind of a misnomer. It's not not Communist either.
They did away with some of the more arcane collectivist relics but it's certainly not a "free" country run on "free market" principles or legal freedoms, not at all really.

1 more version of shitty Android coming straight out of Beijing's lap isn't competition, it's corruption of digital

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[BobbyWang]

Hongmeng is not an Android version.

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[gtall]

The Chinese government is more accurately described as Fascist. Learn your definitions.

Neat

[Ryanrule]

/click

"Own" operating system . . .

[PolygamousRanchKid]

With Huawei devices . . . the operating system owns you!

Linux.

[Gravis Zero]

If they were honest, they would just say they are rolling out yet another Linux variant with a flashy GUI. They might as well go full GPL project and call it YALVWAFGUI. ;)

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[CrimsonAvenger]

YALVWAFGUI

Hmm, wonder what that looks like when written in China's simplified script...

Internet of Things?

[classiclantern]

So the spy phone wants access to your thermostat, voice assistant, light bulbs, and cameras. Sounds good to me.

Bring on this OS...

[ctilsie242]

Huawei has the ability to be an absolute game-changer if they can make a solid phone OS. Something like how Android was in 2010, where it was easily hackable, moddable, with locked boot loaders being the exception than the rule.

However, with Huawei locking down bootloaders, I have a feeling that this OS may be something completely closed source, with unknown security issues. Apps? At best an Android compatibility layer that may or may not be secure.

Huawei has a chance of doing something pretty awesome wi

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[gtall]

Do you really think the Chinese government is going to allow Huawei to make an easily hackable, moddable phone? Jinping will gnaw off his arm before he lets that happen.

A new level of spyware

[OneHundredAndTen]

I don't trust Google. An OS by Huawei, a Chinese company long in bed with the Chinese government? You can't be serious.

No copying, for sure.

[spkay31]

Chandroid is nothing like any other mobile operating system!

Sailfish

[John.Banister]

Huawei should consider a phone with Sailfish. I'm sure they're large enough to have the competence available to build their own phone OS, but the problem they have stems from people saying that they don't trust Huawei. Sailfish has a pretty trustworthy reputation, and that could provide a useful benefit to Huawei.

Good luck with that

[DrXym]

A phone OS with a handful of apps will die like all the rest.

Sweet

[ShieldW0lf]

I'm tired of those left wing commies over at Google spying on me.

Their OWN OS?

[p51d007]

Yeah, built on the back of android, microsoft, Samsung, Google etc. With their built in slave labor market, spies that steal/buy tech on the dark web, they can pretty much undercut anyone else. Unlike Japan and Korea who had the lions share of stuff in the manufacturing world, China doesn't have to concern themselves with their "citizens" rising up and demanding higher wages & better working conditions.