Over here in the West – and particularly in the US – Huawei is often looked upon as a second-rate smartphone manufacturer, with the US government going so far as to brandishing the company puppets for the Chinese government. However, elsewhere the company is a pretty big deal when it comes to smartphones and it’s not just their success in China or other parts of Asia either, they’re often featured in the World’s Top 5 list of smartphone manufacturers and they’re even selling devices directly to consumers in the US. Huawei’s head, Richard Yu, is something of an outspoken character and most recently, he’s come out against operating systems like Windows Phone and Samsung’s own Tizen.
Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, RMr Yu has said that operating systems outside of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are essentially doomed. Speaking specifically about Samsung’s Tizen, Yu says that “no chance to be successful”. To Samsung fans, that might seem like Yu is just firing shots at their more successful rival, but Yu didn’t hold back when talking about Windows Phone either, admitting that “it has been difficult to persuade customers to buy a Windows phone.” While this does leave Huawei no option but to work with Google and their homegrown Android platform, Yu says that while’s he’s a little concerned, Huawei and Google have something of a good relationship and that while it’s fairly simple to create an operating system, it’s difficult for them to build the ecosystem that users are after.
When you think about it, it’s the ecosystem that allows Google and Apple’s platform to be so successful. Asking someone who uses an iPhone and has done for years, is no longer as simple as buying a new phone, the same apps need to be bought again and big music listeners have a dilemma there as well, with iTunes not available on Android (or Windows Phone, for that matter). While personally, I don’t see Samsung’s Tizen becoming successful, if only due to the vast amount of apps and games available on Android, it sure wouldn’t hurt for Google and Apple to have some more competition to contend with.