A week after announcing that it was planning to release a dual-OS smartphone, it appears that Huawei has had a change of heart. A statement sent to FierceWireless earlier this week indicates that Huawei will remain focused on single-OS devices:
“Huawei Consumer Business Group adopts an open approach towards mobile operating systems to provide a range of choices for consumers. However, most of our products are based on Android OS, [and] at this stage there are no plans to launch a dual-OS smartphone in the near future.”
A company spokeswoman further explained that the company’s plans changed since Yang spoke to Trusted Reviews at Mobile World Congress in late February. She provided no explanation for the reversal but it may have been due to pressure from Google or Microsoft or even both.
The company reiterated its support for both Microsoft and its Windows Phone operating system. It is likely to unveil new devices to coincide with the expected launch of Windows Phone 8.1 in a matter of weeks. According to the statement:
“Microsoft is still a key global partner of Huawei Consumer Business Group. As long as the consumers continue to demand Windows, we will continue to supply them.”
It remains to be seen if India’s Karbonn will also drop its plans to make dual-OS smartphones. With both Google and Microsoft unhappy with this trend and apparently throwing their weight around to dissuade manufacturers such as ASUS from moving forward with such plans, it is unlikely that we will see such a device from Karbonn or anyone else in the near future.
Source : FierceWireless