There's a tale doing the rounds today about Huawei's confirmed decision to avoid making any Windows 10 powered smartphones. It's true, the company did say that during a press briefing at its Shenzhen headquarters as reported by several media outlets who were in the room at the time. While hearing a phone maker confirm they're skipping Windows 10 doesn't feel great, this one in particular comes as no surprise.
After all, Huawei has already ditched Windows Phone 8 because "it wasn't profitable" for them.
So, what was actually said? As reported from China by FoneArena's Nirave Ghondia:
"When questioned about Huawei's past Windows Phone devices and plans by John McCann, Yang said that the biggest problem with the Windows Phone platform is differentiating between manufacturers. As an example, Yang said a Huawei device running Android has several unique characteristics compared to other Android devices but Microsoft's platform has the same interface across all devices. As such, it's difficult for the company to differentiate between themselves and other Windows Phone devices which is why the company has no immediate plans to launch a Windows Phone device."
Nothing said there is at all inaccurate. On Windows Phone you run Windows Phone. On Windows 10 you'll run Windows 10. Huawei's Android devices run the company's own, customized software known as EMUI. And while that might not be to everyone's tastes, it's not the same as competing devices from HTC, Samsung, LG, Lenovo et al.
Ultimately, just like Microsoft, Huawei is in the phone business at all to make money. The recent earnings report released by the company shows just how successful it has been basing its phone business on Android. All told Huawei sold over 75 million smartphones in 2014, itself a 45% increase year-on-year. And that's without a significant presence in the U.S. and a still growing presence in Europe.
It's still disappointing, though, as 2014 saw some really great devices from Huawei such as the Ascend P7, Ascend Mate 7 and the Honor 6. Good phones by any standards and with hardware that Windows Phone would just fly on. But, the differentiation question is valid. How do you make a Windows Phone that truly stands apart from what the Lumia range already offers?
It's not all bad news, though. Huawei doesn't just make phones. The same question regarding Windows 10 also prompted a response about where the future may lie with it on the company's tablets:
"Whilst discussing the possibility of Huawei's future plans however, Shao Yang did concede that the company may look into Windows 10 on its Tablet range. Yang suggested that the company has no plans to launch a solely Windows 10 device but is considering a dual-boot system to run both Windows 10 and Android on the same tablet."
We've seen combined Android and Windows 8 devices announced in the past from the likes of Samsung and ASUS. Whether it ever comes to fruition or not, only time will tell. But it's clear that Huawei isn't going to stray too far from its successful Android enterprise any time soon.
Source: FoneArena
