Huawei sets to release smartphone with in-house OS

China-based phone maker, Huawei has disclosed plans to release its first smartphone running on an in-house developed OS in Q4, conducting compatibility tests with Android apps, Global Times reported.

The company which in June filed to trademark the Hongmeng OS in countries in Europe and other key markets, will release the Android alternative at its developer conference on 9 August in Dongguan, China to encourage the development of apps for the new ecosystem, the newspaper said.

The handset will be priced at about CNY2,000 ($288) in China.

The vendor declined to respond to questions from Mobile World Live about its OS efforts, so it remains unclear if it is working on an entirely new OS or an Android fork, which analysts reckon is more feasible.

Huawei representatives previously suggested Hongmeng was primarily designed for IoT and industrial use, but noted that if it’s cut off from using Android, the home-grown OS could be used for its smartphones, Global Times wrote.

A week after the US Department of Commerce in May added Huawei to a list of businesses barred from buying components and software from US companies, the company’s founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei expressed confidence the company will survive the ban because it had already prepared for the eventuality.

Despite the pending import ban, its smartphone shipments increased 8.3 per cent year-on-year in Q2 to 58.7 million units, with its global market share rising to 17.6 per cent, data from IDC showed.