HUAWEI DEVELOP AN ALTERNATIVE TO ANDROID

With the expected end of Android updates on its smartphones, the Chinese telecom giant Huawei could be tempted to implement his "plan B": offer its own operating system, competing with those of Google and Apple, with the thorny challenge of convincing developers and users.

Trapped by the ups and downs of the Sino-US trade dispute, Huawei, the world's number two in the smartphone market, is now looking for a parade.

Following the restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, Google - which the Android system equips the vast majority of smartphones in the world, including those of Huawei - announced Sunday that he was going to have to cut the bridges with the Chinese giant before Washington finally granted him Monday a period of three months.

Under pressure, the behemoth of Shenzhen (southern China) could accelerate the development of its own operating system, on which it is already working since 2012 according to press information.

A potentially vital alternative: Android has certainly said that it will continue for the moment to make security updates, but ultimately, for lack of such updates, Huawei smartphones could be victims of security breaches and obsolescence , can no longer use the latest versions of popular applications such as Gmail or Google Maps.

Alternative Operating System

Huawei had already admitted to working on an alternative operating system: "We are getting ready. If we do not have to use these systems (like Android), we will have to be well armed, "said Richard Yu, general manager of the group's general public, in an interview in March with the German newspaper Die Welt.

"It's our plan B. But of course we preferred to work in concert with the ecosystems of Google and Microsoft," he said.

Premonitory remarks: this platform Huawei, currently developed in beta form and called "Hongmeng", "will now gradually replace Android," said Monday the official Chinese newspaper Global Times, citing the local press.

For some experts, it was inescapable: Huawei "knew well that as a giant telecom, he was ultimately to control the main technologies," says AFP Wong Kam Fai, professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"They already have their system, but are not ready" to broadcast it, he observes. "It would have been perfect if they were three years older, but it's happening now, and now they have to speed up."

Huawei has, however, always been cautious about the subject - developing an operating system with the entire ecosystem that accompanies it, so as to appeal to users and developers, is eminently complex.

Oure the Android of Google, the only other sufficiently widespread operating system is the iOS of Apple, available exclusively on iPhones.

Microsoft had tried to launch a mobile version of its famous Windows in 2010, but had managed to offer it on its own phones. The Windows Phone had not met with success and Microsoft abandoned the adventure in 2017, even if its operating system will not disappear until the end of 2019. As for the system "free of rights" Tizen developed by Samsung, it remains confidential.

"Exceptionally Difficult"

In the opinion of the experts, the challenge is not only technological: it takes years to gain the confidence of smartphone manufacturers and application developers, to encourage them to adapt their programs to the new system, to seduce users with a varied offer.

Designing an operating system "effectively and successfully is exceptionally difficult," says Ryan Whalen of the Hong Kong University Center for Law and Technology.

"Look at Nokia, BlackBerry and Microsoft: all have failed in their attempts," and Huawei will, in addition, lead by "a competitive handicap" because rivals in the smartphone market will continue to use Android, he added .

Of course, Huawei can eventually rely on other Chinese manufacturers, such as Oppo or Xiaomi, to adopt.

But without access to the full version of Android, the popular services of Google, not to mention the many applications available on the Google Play store, Huawei may have trouble convincing consumers outside China to choose its phones.

And even as the Chinese giant has already established itself, especially in Europe, thanks to its advanced smartphones - praised especially for the quality of their camera - and launched during lavish ceremonies.