The Chinese group BBK (Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus) and Huawei are partnering to develop an alternative operating system to Android and iOS – and, above all, one that is completely free from American services. A project seen as essential, at a time when the White House is buried in aggressive protectionism against companies based in China.
Android and iOS will soon have to face a third major operating system in smartphones and tablets. The BBK group, which owns the Xiaomi, Vivo, OnePlus, and Oppo brands, is said to be, in turn, after Huawei, intending to create an OS free from Google services – and more broadly from US patents.
The effort could rely largely on the work of Huawei, which now says it is ready to cut its last ties with Android, and Xiaomi's Hyper OS system. Hit by heavy US sanctions and banned from Google services, the firm decided a few years ago to develop its own mobile operating system, called HarmonyOS.
The world's number one, the BBK group intends to break the Android-iOS duopoly in smartphones.
Software largely based, originally, on Android code. But with alternatives, in place of all the applications such as the Play Store. The problem is that the app store for Huawei smartphones running HarmonyOS still contains mostly China-specific apps and lacks many essential names for international users.
It must be said that the brand has, since the US Department of Commerce's ruling, largely retreated to its home country – at least when it comes to smartphones. This makes the ecosystem less attractive to many developers in Europe and North America. And this is precisely where the initiative by the BBK group's brands is changing the situation.
Together, three of the group's four manufacturers accounted for 28% of the international market in the 4th quarter of 2024 (Counterpoint figures). Enough to establish itself as number 1 in sales, ahead of Apple and Samsung. In short, the perfect position to establish a new major player ahead of Android and iOS, capable of uniting most developers. And above all, of profoundly disrupting the established order.
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