Huawei HongMeng Ark OS may be trying to replace Android at the end of 2019

ByFelicity Rosa 2019-06-03 1180

Huawei has already confirmed that it is preparing an operating system to replace Android, but it still does not reveal its name: rumors say it will be called HongMeng OS, at least in China; the company also registered the Ark OS brand in Europe. It follows "far from ready", and should only be released in late 2019 or early 2020.

It has been requested to register five brands in Europe: Huawei Ark OS, Huawei Ark, Ark, Ark OS and Huawei Ark Compiler. Applications were made on 24 May at the EUIPO (Institute for Intellectual Property of the European Union).

Chinese media vehicles say that Huawei has been testing a system called HongMeng OS, with plans to use it gradually as a replacement for Android. The name may cause strangeness - it makes reference to Taoist literature - so "Ark OS" would be more suitable outside of China.

According to the China Business Network, Android applications could run on Huawei's system and, if they are recompiled to run natively, they will perform up to 60% higher. Maybe the "Ark Compiler" will do that.

Richard Yu, head of the consumer electronics division, tells CNBC that Huawei's operating system will include AppGallery, an alternative to the Play Store pre-installed on its handsets outside China since last year. The executive stresses, however, that the system will only be released if the company continues to be prevented from using Google (or Microsoft) products.

Huawei Ark OS expected to arrive in late 2019 or 2020

Do not expect to see the Ark OS anytime soon. According to Yu, the operating system should be ready in the fourth quarter of 2019 for launch in China; the global version would only be in the first or second quarter of 2020.

A Huawei Middle East executive told TechRadar that the operating system would already be ready for launch in June. The company quickly denied this, reiterating that it could be ready by the end of 2019 for China, and internationally by 2020.

Creating an operating system takes a lot of time. Android began to be developed in 2003 and only came to mobile phones five years later in 2008. iOS was launched around 2005 as an adapted version of Mac OS X for smaller screens; the system for Macs has existed since 2001.

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