Huawei is developing an alternative mobile OS

Jun 23, 2016 08:45 GMT  ·  By

Huawei has recently announced that the new version of its EmotionUI will be arriving this fall, but it seems that the Chinese company is also working on a big and ambitious project in the meantime. Huawei is said to be developing its own mobile OS, just in case its partnership with Google doesn’t work out as expected.

The rumor has been reported by The Information, which quotes three sources briefed on the project. It is said that Huawei is building its own mobile OS in order to remove limitations that Google might impose. The report mentions that the OS is only in the early stages of development and that the team working on the project is based somewhere in Scandinavia.

It also specifies that the team is comprised of ex-Nokia employees. This isn’t uncommon, since Huawei recently hired Abigail Brody, former Apple mobile UI design lead. The company decided to contract Brody in order to make significant changes to its EMUI that sits on top of Android OS.

It seems that some have criticized Huawei for copying elements from iOS, and some fans have even stated that the design of app icons is strikingly similar to that on iPhones. It appears that Huawei has taken the criticism into consideration, since the upcoming version 5.0 of EmotionUI is expected to come with a design that strongly resembles that of stock Android.

Huawei will launch EMUI 5.0 this fall and continue to work on its own OS

The designer has acknowledged the existence of Huawei’s mobile OS and has mentioned that she plans to meet with the team in August. By the looks of it, Huawei isn’t set on implementing the OS on its mobile devices, but it views the project as an alternative, in case Google imposes some restrictions on its EMUI.

Either way, Huawei will continue to focus on its EMUI and attempt to make it resemble stock Android more, and not iOS. The company intends to add new icons, vibrant colors and an app drawer for organizing all applications installed on its phones.

Huawei isn’t the only smartphone manufacturer to stray from Google’s Android OS. Samsung is also said to be upping investments in its Tizen OS, which the company reportedly intends to implement in all of its mobile products.