The Huawei Mate 30 may be the first phone with Hongmeng OS
Huawei is ‘readying’ its custom Hongmeng OS for a ‘possible’ release in the near future, leading to speculation its hotly anticipated Mate 30 phablet may feature the software.
The news broke via Reuters on Thursday, which reported vice president of Huawei Andrew Williamson revealed “Huawei is in the process of potentially launching a replacement [for Android]”.
The news follows separate reports Huawei has registered a trademark for Hongmeng OS with the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization.
If the OS is released in the near future it would make sense for it to run on the hotly anticipated Huawei Mate 30. The Mate 30 is expected to be Huawei’s next phablet and a direct rival to Samsung’s fabled Galaxy Note 10, which is expected to launch in September.
Little is known about Hongmeng OS, outside of the fact it is a backup operating system Huawei has been developing in case it was ever forced to stop using Android. Speculation suggests it is based on the open source version of Android, which is very different to the polished version you find on most phones.
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The move to release Hongmeng OS sooner than expected is a direct reaction to a block by Google that will stop future Huawei devices having an Android license. This will cut future Huawei phones off from official software updates from Google and key services including the Play Store, Google Maps, Gmail, Search and Google Assistant.
The ban was put in place following an executive order from the US White House in May. Numerous other tech firms including Intel, Microsoft and ARM have been forced to cut ties with Huawei as a result of the order.
Related: What you need to know about the Huawei Android ban
Williamson added Huawei is still hoping for a resolution to the block.
“It’s not something Huawei wants. We’re very happy of being part of the Android family, but Hongmeng is being tested, mostly in China,” he said.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.