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Huawei exec says Hongmeng OS isn’t designed to replace Android

When Google announced that it would be pulling Huawei’s Android license a couple of months ago, reports immediately began sprouting that the Chinese firm would be developing its own operating system for future devices.

So much so that it was reportedly being called Hongmeng, after Huawei copyrighted a few different name options.

Since then Huawei has confirmed that it is working on an operating system, but it looks like the firm is still deciding whether it will officially launch it for smartphones, especially given the fact that Google can once again sell services to the Chinese company.

According to a report from state-owned site Xinhua, the firm’s SVP Catherine Chen told reporters at an event in Brussels that the Hongmeng operating system is not designed as a replacement for Android.

“She said the recently-trademarked Hongmeng is for industrial use and actually has been in development long before the current discussions around finding an alternative to Android,” adds the site.

As The Verge points out, earlier reports suggest Hongmeng may be used for low-latency IoT devices, which is a possibility given the firm’s 5G hardware ambitions, but would certainly be a pivot from what the rumour mill has been churning out of late.

Consumer CEO Richard Yu has also noted that Huawei would be ready to use Android alternatives earlier this year. Adding credence to that is our own interactions with Huawei executives, with a “plan B” being worked on in the event that the 90-day deadline laid out by Google in May.

In all likelihood Chen simply stated that Hongmeng would not replace Android as the company and Google are once again allowed to trade with one another.

The question still remains, however, as to when Huawei decides to make the jump to its own mobile operating system, which we think is still in the offing.

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