According to Huawei execs, HongMeng OS is not designed for phones

Recent statements from two Huawei management executives have painted a confusing picture on the status of its own mobile OS.

Huawei Chairman Liang Hua reportedly told reporters in Shenzhen last Friday that the company hasn't decided whether HongMeng can be developed as a smartphone OS in the future. Liang's comments mirror that of Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, who told France's Le Point that "HongMeng is not designed for phones as everyone thinks".

Huawei Chairman Liang Hua - "The Hongmeng OS is primarily developed for IoT devices that will reduce latency… In terms of smartphones, we are still using the Android operating system and ecosystem as a "first choice." We haven't decided yet if the Hongmeng OS can be developed as a smartphone operating system in the future," he said.

The two statements contradict what Richard Yu, Huawei's CEO for consumer business, said to CNBC in May that the OS could be ready for use in phones and tablets by fall this year. Nonetheless, Huawei has already filed trademark applications for the OS in at least 9 countries and Europe.

Liang also commented on the recent easing of trade restrictions by the US He believed the U.S government should go further and remove Huawei from the Entity List as it is neither justified nor fair.

ALSO READ: China's Huawei awaits US nod on resuming usage of Google Android

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.