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Poll: What would you want to see in Huawei's upcoming OS?

Huawei 01
© J. Lekavicius/Shutterstock

Huawei is stuck in the middle of a trade war between the US and China, and to fight back against being shunned by Google, it is developing its own mobile operating system. What would you want to see in Huawei's upcoming rival to Android?

Donald Trump recently declared a national emergency to protect US computer networks from "foreign adversaries". The executive order targeting Huawei has the potential to wreak havoc on the Chinese firm's smartphone business, especially since Google has stopped all hardware and software trade relations with the company. As a consequence of this, the world's second largest smartphone manufacturer will no longer get Android updates. Though the parts of Android which are under open source licenses are excluded from this, Huawei smartphones sold outside of China will no longer have access to services like the Play Store and to Google apps.

The latest from Reuters says that Huawei is in talks with Google to clarify what options are available moving forward. But, Huawei's back up plan, its own mobile OS, is already under development anyway. Huawei has confirmed that an operating system could be available in China as early as this year. There are conflicting rumors and leaks about when it will be ready, but The Information says that "Project Z" is already underway, and while it is primarily intended for the Chinese market, where an ecosystem including wearables and IoT devices would be possible, it isn't clear if it could be set up to work in other markets.

emui 9 huawei
Huawei's EMUI 9 Android UI reminds me of iOS. / © NextPit

Since we don't know anything about the OS yet, in this week's poll, we want to find out what you would want from a Android alternative made by Huawei. Perhaps Huawei's OS could take on the iOS-like design of the EMUI Android skin we're already familiar with from Huawei and Honor phones, or its features like the camera AI, app twinning, GPU Turbo technology, or file safe. Without access to the Play Store, having a sufficient number of compatible apps could be a big issue in the early days. On the other hand, one report claims that developers could recompile their Android apps for the system and they would run 60 times faster. And, maybe OS version updates would be quicker than with Android since there wouldn't be another company in the middle.

Let us know what you think in the comments, and tell us which aspects you care about most in the poll below.

What aspects do you want most from a made-by-Huawei Android alternative?
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Brittany McGhee

Brittany McGhee
Editor androidpit.com

Brittany loves to keep up with the latest technology and innovation, so she is excited to have the opportunity to write about the wonderful world of Android. She thinks spreadsheets and numbers are fun, in addition to reading books and volunteering.

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11 comments
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  • 27
    Sorin May 28, 2019 Link to comment

    First of all, I expect the operating system to be fast. The general appearance can be improved on different themes, depending on your preferences. And if the application store will benefit from more attention to the overall layout, the number of applications will be increased by those interested.
    I'm sure they will be very interested in the new operating system, but in order to be truly successful, it will take a period of accommodation, and if the benefits prove to be in favor of the new operating system, then the chances will be much higher.


  • 3
    Kevin May 27, 2019 Link to comment

    What I would like to see is privacy and open source. We should be sure they are not going to be the next Google spying on us. I prefer something like /e/ from e.foundation . It is already available Googleless android and it runs android apps.


  • yotzmach 8
    yotzmach May 27, 2019 Link to comment

    I would just want them to do plain Android with their own play services equivalent. This could be a chance to create a real competition to Google. Of course they wouldn't do it. Instead they will fork too much and botch it.
    Personally I don't know if I prefer to go with an American spying company or a Chinese one...

    Sorin


  • CJ Brown 29
    CJ Brown May 27, 2019 Link to comment

    I'm going to go with what Oppo / OnePlus did when they took from Android OS and developed with CyanogenMod (before they bailed for Microsoft - and failed!) because it worked for me (and still does)!

    So continue relationship with Android (Google) and develop your own OS (or keep it close to stock like Motorola with gestures!)

    Sorin


  • 11
    Chris Laarman May 26, 2019 Link to comment

    I would like plain Linux with an Android emulator.

    This Huawei-thing, the different ROMs for Xiaomi devices and the Russian attempts for uncoupling their part of the Internet are among the things that have made me aware of the impact that politics can have on the use of everyday technology. Using open-source software may well contribute to a life of opportunities for everyone on Earth (that can use this technology).

    SorinCJ Brown


    • yotzmach 8
      yotzmach May 27, 2019 Link to comment

      Android is already a plain Linux OS with an Android emulator...


      • 11
        Chris Laarman May 27, 2019 Link to comment

        Then how do I install and run a Linux app on an Android device? (To my knowledge, I can't.)


      • yotzmach 8
        yotzmach May 28, 2019 Link to comment

        There is no such thing as a Linux app. There is software that you need to compile for the device, and you can do that for every command line tool.
        You're probably confusing the app term with a distro installer such as apt, dpkg and such. Also, if you want Linux style UI, it's a problem, because for what I know, there's no xserver/gnome/kde port for Android.


      • 11
        Chris Laarman May 28, 2019 Link to comment

        Thank you for your reaction, yotzmach, but it's the one I hoped you wouldn't post.
        My intention was not theorizing about the nature of software (that would otherwise soon emerge in our little discussion), but rather to contribute to the solution that many users of mobile devices (including myself) may be helped by.
        "Solution" in a sense like: trading one person's time (for coding) for another person's money (enabling this one to fulfill his needs by using the device enriched by the app).


  • 49
    storm May 26, 2019 Link to comment

    im not particularly interested in their os. sell me an FOSS Open bootloader unlocked phone without OS. Ill install lineage or aosp or one the linux phone systems. the makers need only code drivers for hardware.

    SorinCJ Brown


  • David Martrano 29
    David Martrano May 25, 2019 Link to comment

    This Huawei deal is going to effect the whole smartphone industry. Who is right or who is wrong? I feel a solution can be found, maybe!

    SorinCJ Brown

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