In India, the government plans to release its own operating system for phones. Policymakers are currently in talks with local start-ups to explore the possibilities. The operating system will compete with Android and iOS.
Indian Operating System
If you buy a new smartphone, there is a very good chance that it will work with either Android or iOS. The operating systems of Google and Apple currently have a kind of duopoly in practice, and the Indian government sees an opportunity to compete with its own third system.
It was the Indian Minister of Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar who told The Economic Times about it. The government is currently working on a policy regarding the development of a new operating system for smartphones. Discussions are already underway with start-ups and academics.
‘A lot of interest’
“There is no third [mobile OS]. That’s why the Government of India and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology are very interested in creating a new operating system for phones. We are now discussing it with people and working on a policy.” said Minister Chandrasekhar.
In the past, there have been more competitors for Android and iOS that have thrown in the towel. We are thinking of BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone, Symbian and WebOS, among others. On the other hand, today there is still Huawei that wants to expand its market share with HarmonyOS.
Can a newcomer succeed?
If a third operating system is to be successful globally, it is important that it has a way to support Android apps. It is very difficult to start from scratch with an application store. On the other hand, India should also be able to convince Google to offer its services on the system. Due to the sanctions imposed by the US, Google is not allowed to release its apps on HarmonyOS.