Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is testing a low-cost smartphone running its homemade Hongmeng operating system ahead of a possible launch by the end of the year, local media reported today.

The report from Global Times suggested that Huawei sees the debut of the phone as a kind of test of the viability of Hongmeng OS as a substitute for Google LLC’s Android operating system, which powers the vast majority of its smartphones.

Huawei’s ability to continue running Android on its future smartphones has come into question as a result of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, which has resulted in American firms being barred from doing business with it except under special circumstances. (It also tanked the entire U.S. stock market, as exchanges fell by about 3% today.)

Details of Hongmeng OS first emerged in July shortly after Huawei was handed a temporary reprieve that has allowed it to continue doing business with Google pending the outcome of further trade talks between the U.S. and Chinese governments. Apparently, Hongmeng OS has been in the works for some years already since the Chinese firm had anticipated it might be hit by U.S. sanctions.

In a recent interview with French magazine Le Point, Huawei Chief Executive Officer Ren Zhengfai made some interesting claims about Hongmeng OS, saying it will be 60% faster than the Android system it’s meant to replace. The OS will reportedly be able to run on other platforms besides smartphones and tablets, including TVs desktops, laptops, connected cars and even data centers, and will also be compatible with Android apps, which, if true, would eliminate the need to build up a new ecosystem of applications.

But that possibility seems unlikely, according to many observers, including Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, and if so Huawei has an uphill battle.

“I find it very unlikely that Huawei could be successful with an alternative smartphone outside of China and even inside China,” he told SiliconANGLE. “It is a stretch. Consumers expect millions of applications to be available and I couldn’t see more than a few hundred thousand to be available after five years of work.”

The device in question will reportedly be sold for less than $300, which is a lot cheaper than Huawei’s premium P-Series and Mate handsets. Obviously, Huawei believes that testing Hongmeng OS on a lower-priced device first is less risky than launching the software on one of its premium smartphones and suggests it’s not entirely confident the OS will be on a par with Android, despite its earlier claims.

Huawei has yet to confirm what plans it has for Hongmeng OS, and would undoubtedly prefer to continue using Android, at least for the foreseeable future. In an interview last month, Huawei Senior Vice President Catherine Chen reaffirmed the company’s intent to use Android for its smartphones if possible. Moreover, in its first-quarter earnings report last week, Huawei Chairman Liang Hua said Hongmeng is part of the company’s long-term strategy and there were no immediate plans to use it.

Photo: vladandriescu/Flickr