Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday said that it would launch a long-awaited new operating system for smartphones next week, part of an all-out push into the software industry aimed at overcoming US sanctions and taking on Google’s Android.
Huawei tipped the launch of its HarmonyOS platform, set for Wednesday next week, in a short teaser on social media, just as an internal memo came to light in which company founder and chief executive officer Ren Zhengfei (任正非) outlined plans to go big in software.
The 76-year-old assured staff that “in the software domain, the US will have very little control over our future development, and we have much autonomy.”
Photo: Reuters
Huawei’s plans are the latest signs of a radical transformation at the Shenzhen-based company, which is moving quickly into new product lines seen as less vulnerable to US pressure and a re-focus on its core domestic market.
Analysts warn that creating a successful new mobile operating system is exceedingly difficult in a world where Android and iOS are firmly entrenched, and the launch will be watched closely by the tech world.
Huawei gave no further details on the launch other than the timing.
A move into software is prudent for Huawei, which remains years away from developing chips needed for its own devices, IRT Corp chief analyst Marc Einstein said in Tokyo.
The timing is also good because the advent of 5G networks in years to come would radically change the tech landscape, offering major new opportunities in artificial intelligence, wired “smart cities,” intelligent vehicles and other tech spheres.
“Some of these things are still very, very early days and there’s no real gorilla in the market yet,” Einstein said. “So it does make sense to go in this direction.”
Einstein said that while Huawei’s size and expertise would make it formidable, success is not assured.
It would need to compete against domestic tech giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) and Baidu Inc (百度), which have all pushed into software and cloud computing, and the US-imposed hurdles overseas could curb its appeal in foreign markets, he said.
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