HTC to build smartphone operating system for Chinese markets instead of using Android

Here’s an odd turn of events for the struggling HTC; the Wall Street Journal is reporting that HTC is helping the Chinese government co-develop a smartphone operating system to be used on handsets in place of Android. Sounds weird, but it seems like every few months China disagrees with something Google is doing, so it makes sense that they would want to try and remove Android from their country as a whole. And considering HTC desperately needs something to anchor themselves back into the smartphone game, that’s a very beneficial relationship for them. Supposedly, the OS will also have deep integration with Chinese services like Weibo.

Now, this “custom OS” could always be a heavily forked version of Android that’s lacking all of Google’s services. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that happen, so it’s always a possibility. Considering HTC doesn’t have deep pockets like Samsung, I think it’s more likely that this OS will be based off of Android and not anything like Tizen. Regardless of what happens, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

source: Wall Street Journal