Huawei's first smartphone with HongMeng OS will arrive in Q4 2019

Last month, Huawei's Senior Vice President Catherine Chen claimed that the HongMeng OS is not an alternative to Android and that the company will continue to use Google's mobile operating system in its smartphones. However, a new report China's Global Times suggests the company is testing a smartphone with its HongMeng operating system and may launch it before the end of the year.

As per the report, the Chinese company will formally showcase HongMeng OS for the first time at its Developer Conference on August 9 in Dongguan, China. The first device to ship with Huawei's homegrown operating system will be the Honor Smart TV series, which will reportedly debut on August 10. Eventually, the operating system is planned to be expanded into other areas such as autonomous driving, remote medical services, and industrial control.

The first smartphone to run on the HongMeng OS will debut in the fourth quarter of the year, alongside Huawei's flagship Mate 30 series. If the report is to be believed, the smartphone will be priced at around 2,000 yuan ($288) in China, targeting the low-to-mid-range segment. The report further claims Huawei's homegrown operating system has cryptographic features that will allow it to protect users' privacy better compared to other mobile operating systems. Huawei is also said to be testing the operating system's compatibility with apps designed for Android.

Unlike Android, HongMeng OS is based on a microkernel, which allows it to "better accommodate artificial intelligence (AI) and run on multiple platforms." However, the biggest challenge in front of the company is to attract developers to build a good app ecosystem.