Huawei isn’t keeping all its eggs in one basket with all that is going on in the recent weeks following the US trade ban. Google is already in talks with the US government to let Huawei off the hook of this ban. The Chinese tech giant hasn’t started negotiations but they’re working on their own Android replacement OS which goes by the name Ark OS or HongMeng OS they’ve already started patenting this trademark in several countries.
Huawei partnered with Tencent and conducted tests on its OS with various smartphone manufacturers including VIVO and OPPO to tests its performance as compared to Google’s Android. The tests look positive so far, as the Ark OS performs 60% relatively faster than Android according to reports.
Details about the OS are still scant but we know Huawei is reportedly accelerating its development. So far the company is taking advantage of the 90-day reprieve to update all its current devices to Android Pie which is now at 80 million devices and Huawei wants it to reach 100 million. Huawei is rolling out EMUI 9.1 second public beta to more devices plus its already reaching to app developers to start publishing their apps on their App Gallery, their Google Play Store alternative. They recently said that their smartphone production is still at full capacity but their goal of surpassing Samsung will have to be put on hold in the meantime.
The new OS will probably ship with devices launching next year such as the Huawei P40 series or the Mate series slated to be released later this year. GSMArena reported that Huawei has shipped 1 million devices with the new OS although it is unknown if they’re market-available phones.
