The hardware field is constrained by people, the software market is brewing breakthroughs Our reporter Li Sikun Our correspondent Xin Bin ...
The hardware field is constrained by people, the software market is brewing breakthroughs
Our reporter Li Sikun Our correspondent Xin Bin
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. announced on May 25 that it will officially announce the Hongmeng operating system that can cover mobile terminals such as mobile phones on June 2. This is also after the "official announcement" Hongmeng operating system in 2019, the system was officially installed on smartphones. According to the speech of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei at the company's internal meeting disclosed by foreign media on the 25th, Ren Zhengfei believes that the future development of the pure software field is basically not under the control of the United States and has greater independence and autonomy. Huawei can "root and break the sky." . Combined with Ren Zhengfei's speech, the industry has high hopes for Hongmeng operating system. Can China use "pure software" as a breakthrough to break the technological containment of the United States? The experts interviewed by the "Global Times" reporter all gave affirmative answers. They believe that the judgment that the United States cannot "stuck China's neck" in the field of pure software is basically true, but if the domestic pure software system wants to advance and completely replace the American system, Still need to go through a period of pain.
Can you break the duopoly
Reuters reported on the 25th that a meeting of Ren Zhengfei with some of the company’s scientists and software experts in April this year showed that Ren Zhengfei asked Huawei to dare to invest strategically, establish an open atmosphere, and strengthen software, and said that Huawei has sufficient financial support. , Dare to invest in material and human resources. According to the report, Ren Zhengfei's speech on pure software "dare to lead the world" comes at a time when Huawei is seeking growth beyond the hardware business. Because of US sanctions, Huawei's hardware business has been hit hard, and its core business, its mobile phone business, has been sanctioned. Ren Zhengfei said that Huawei attaches great importance to software, because in this field, future development is basically not under the control of the United States, with greater independence and autonomy, which can "root and break the sky." The memo shows that since it is difficult for Huawei to produce advanced hardware in a short period of time, it should focus on establishing a software ecosystem, such as the Hongmeng operating system.
The US technology news website "The Verge" said on the 25th that the US sanctions prohibit Google from providing technical support for new Huawei mobile phone models. Huawei's use of its own operating system means that it will no longer rely on the Android system. Huawei used to be the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and now ranks sixth in the world, with only 4% of its market share left in the first quarter.
Singapore’s "Lianhe Zaobao" stated that the outside world has paid special attention to the Hongmeng operating system, which has been developed by Huawei for 7 years and is one of the killer features of the "spare tire plan." The biggest difference between Hongmeng system and the existing Google Android operating system and Apple iOS system is that it adopts a distributed architecture to achieve a seamless collaborative experience between various smart device terminals.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post stated that it remains to be seen whether Huawei can break the duopoly of Apple’s iOS and Google Android mobile operating systems. New operating systems and application program ecosystems are difficult to gain widespread consumer adoption. To replace Android, Huawei faces an uphill struggle. According to data analysis company Statista, Android and Apple's iOS are the world's top two most popular mobile operating systems, and they together account for 99% of the global market share.
Where will I get stuck
"In the field of hardware, China has not yet formed sufficient capabilities in fields such as chip manufacturing, but in the field of software, no link is completely controlled by the United States," Xiang Ligang, chairman of the Information Consumer Alliance, was interviewed by a reporter from the Global Times on the 25th. Said that in the field of pure software, it can be said that China has its own things in every aspect, including operating systems, databases, infrastructure, and basic instruction sets. So far, although China has also used American technology in some instruction sets, it is difficult for the United States to completely ban China's use. In addition to Huawei, companies such as Tencent and Ali have made progress in the software field. In addition, China has developed a large number of application software. "We really have to do it ourselves. It is actually possible to build our own instruction set."
Communication expert Zhang Chi told the Global Times reporter that for Huawei, it is very optimistic to get rid of US control in the field of mobile phone operating systems. Taking Android as an example, the system itself is not very complex. But Zhang Chi also said that in some areas, China is still subject to others: First of all, in the field of eda (electronic design automation), China is now facing big problems, and our most commonly used business mathematics software MATLAB, China is also very dependent on it. . Although we are currently doing replacements, we are still unable to get rid of dependence. "In these areas, even if our country is not caught in the neck, it will definitely be affected by foreign countries."
What is the biggest risk
According to the South China Morning Post, by the end of 2021, the number of devices equipped with the Hongmeng operating system is expected to reach 300 million, of which more than 200 million are from Huawei, and the number of various terminal devices for third-party partners exceeds 100 million. However, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi and OPPO have not yet stated whether to adopt the Hongmeng system.
Zhang Chi said that, in fact, relevant Chinese departments have begun to replace pure software systems, and domestically-made alternative systems and their applications have been put into experimentation, and great progress has been made. In this brand-new field, it will be easier for China to achieve independence, and China can independently research and develop software and applications in the future. But in this process, the biggest risk is that in the future, the United States will pressure its allies to prevent them from using China's self-developed software system, just as it currently rejects Huawei's 5G base station.
"There are now more than one billion mobile phones in China, and we have the world's most intelligent products and devices. As long as the guidance is in place, I believe that our pure software system can become the world's largest system." Xiang Ligang suggested that the government Public officials such as the military and police, as well as senior managers of large state-owned enterprises can be required to use the domestically produced system. Xiaomi and other domestic brands of mobile phones can also consider producing models equipped with the Hongmeng system for use by the military and police. To this end, what companies such as Huawei have to do is to make their systems open source and provide service support. "If this aspect can be done, domestic mobile phone brands will gradually transition to users of domestic systems, which will be helpful to the growth of domestic software systems and even national security." ▲
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