Kernel development is too dependent on Google's core technology. There is still a long way to go to localize it.

At present, the improvement and development of the kernel of domestic mobile phones are very dependent on Google's updates and iterations, while the extended design experience is similar, lacking its own characteristics, and is not very good in terms of security, stability and performance.

When talking about the domestic mobile phone systems, Gu Yi, CEO of Star Map Data, lamented in an interview with a reporter from China Business News: "From the perspective of mobile phone sales across the country, mobile phone operating systems are mainly Android, IOS, and a small number of Windows phones. Almost all domestic mobile phone systems are developed on the basis of Android, and are essentially Android systems. There are many problems in system security, operating performance, and user experience."

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, China is seeking to manufacture its own secure smartphones. It is worth mentioning that the secure smartphones mentioned by the foreign media refer to core components such as mobile phone operating systems and chips.

Mobile operating systems dominated by the United States

It is worth mentioning that in the past few decades, my country's mobile phone industry has also achieved a development process from scratch, and 70% of the world's mobile phones come from China. This figure also shows that in China, mobile phones have become the world's largest sales country.

During this year’s Double 11, data from JD.com and Tmall showed that the two major mobile phone platforms had cumulative sales of nearly 6 million units, breaking last year’s record.

Although my country is a major manufacturer and seller of mobile phones, Chinese manufacturers have not made much breakthrough in this core technology area of ​​mobile phone operating systems.

The mobile phone operating system is called the "golden key to fast operation" in the industry. The reporter learned in the interview that currently, Android and IOS, the mobile phone systems in my country, are in an absolute monopoly position.

As early as 2013, the MIIT Telecommunication Research Institute released the "2013 Mobile Internet White Paper" (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper), which analyzed the current market share of domestic mobile operating systems and pointed out that Android has shown an absolute advantage in the current mobile operating system landscape in my country. As of the end of last year, Android had accounted for 86.4% of the incremental market, while Symbian only accounted for 2%, Apple iOS accounted for 8.6%, and Windows Phone accounted for 1.2%, while the market share of domestic independent operating systems was less than 1%.

The white paper also specifically pointed out that although domestic manufacturers also regarded mobile operating systems as one of their important corporate strategies last year, the challenges of building my country's mobile intelligent operating system and ecosystem are still prominent. my country's mobile operating system research and development has a serious path dependence on Android. Chinese companies' mobile phone systems are generally deeply optimized and developed based on Android.

The white paper also stated that although the Android system currently remains open source, its core technology and technical routes are strictly controlled by Google. my country's operating system research and development companies are always facing commercial discrimination from Google, such as delaying code sharing time and restricting terminal companies through commercial agreements.

Gu Yi told reporters that currently, almost all first-class or hot-selling brands of domestic mobile phones have their own operating systems modified based on Android. This is also an inevitable path. The improvement and development of the kernel is very dependent on Google's updates and iterations, while the extended design experience is similar and lacks its own characteristics. In terms of security, stability and performance, it is not very good and has been in a state of "changing the soup but not the medicine" for a long time.

"Compared with Apple and Google, the current shortcoming of Chinese mobile phones lies in the operating system. Relying on the Android system developed by Google not only has hidden dangers in information security," said Ni Guangnan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, in an interview with the media during the "2015 China Mobile Innovation Week and China Mobile Design and Maker Innovation Competition" recently.

Ni Guangnan said that currently, the weakest link of Chinese mobile phones is the mobile phone operating system. The operating system leads an ecosystem. From the perspective of core technology, the CPU operating system is more important. No matter how it develops, its current status has not changed. Among them, the chip system is formed by the operating system and CPU. China should have its own operating system and independent CPU to build an ecosystem.

Domestic mobile phone operating systems account for less than 1%

The white paper points out that by the third quarter of 2012, Android's global market share had reached 72.4%, Android phones accounted for 97.7% of domestically produced smartphones, and the market share of domestic independent operating systems did not exceed 1%.

Li Hu, a researcher at China Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from China Business News that they basically all use Android, and at most make some customized modifications based on Android, such as the OMS and Alibaba Cloud OS systems previously developed by China Mobile. At present, Huawei, Alibaba, Baidu, etc. have all regarded mobile phone operating systems as one of the important strategic directions of the company and have invested huge manpower and material resources, but the development of mobile intelligent terminal operating systems in my country has a serious path dependence on the Android system, and the effect is not obvious.

The white paper states that my country already has a good industrial foundation for developing mobile operating systems. In order to get rid of the "path dependence" on the Android system as soon as possible, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology strongly supports domestic mobile phone operating systems, which is a great encouragement for domestic smartphones to go global.

As the world's largest sales country, why has China not made substantial progress in mobile phone operating systems? "It is because the innovation ability of the upstream of the industrial chain is not strong, and there is not enough competitiveness in product design and functional experience. my country's mobile phone industry has long focused on the hardware end and the middle and lower reaches of the industrial chain. The development of high-quality mobile phone operating systems requires a lot of time and capital investment, and has great risks. For example, Nokia insisted on a free operating system and was eliminated by the market." He Ailian, a technology researcher at the China Business Industry Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from China Business News.

Gu Yi told reporters that the rapid development of China's mobile phones mainly depends on the fact that the technical barriers of mobile phone hardware itself have been almost completely broken. For a long time, Chinese factories have been developing based on OEM and have no brands of their own. With the development of the Internet and smart phones, a large number of domestic companies have adopted the OEM model to develop mobile phones, which has not actually brought real innovation to the industry.

"The closed nature of the Apple system and the free and open nature of the Android system have designated a single path for rapid development for a large number of mobile phone manufacturers, but they lack the motivation for innovation and real technological insights. Assemble a set of hardware, install an Android system, and a mobile phone can be launched on the market. Manufacturers are all focusing on branding and ecology, and the innovation and research and development of operating systems are almost completely ignored," said Gu Yi.

When will independent research and development “break through”?

According to media reports, a ZTE spokesperson said that it is impossible to use only domestic hardware and software in smartphones, but in order to meet the needs of government agencies, the company is trying to use as many products from domestic suppliers as possible.

Other Chinese phone makers including Coolpad Group Co Ltd and Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd are also trying to get a piece of the action, touting security features such as data encryption in their new phones launched this year.

Gu Yi believes that in order to achieve security and controllability, the research and development of new systems is the only way to develop. It must be closed, all open interfaces of Android must be closed, and starting from the APP, an independent ecosystem must be formed to achieve sustainable development.

"The logic of mobile phone operating systems is the same as that of PC operating systems. The difference lies in that they are executed in different hardware environments. China has not been able to develop its own system from the basic hardware, so China's own operating system has never appeared. All kernels are developed based on Unix and Win, including IOS and Android, which are essentially developed from Unix. Using other people's kernels, no matter what the appearance is, it cannot be achieved domestically. Only by developing our own kernels and hardware can we realize the localization of operating systems in the future." said Gu Yi.

Looking at the views of the above industry insiders, we can see that for mobile phones, my country's manufacturing companies lack core technology and funds, etc. What is needed in this regard is long-term accumulation and patience.

He Ailian also believes that the development of domestic mobile phone operating systems requires relying on companies with relatively strong capital and technical strength to lead development investment, while also integrating resources to make domestic mobile phone operating systems widely applicable to various mobile smart devices and other products; the most important thing is to cooperate with mobile phone giants and try to apply them to special products.

Ni Guangnan recently publicly stated that "the Android system was not perfect at the beginning and has undergone many upgrades. It will take at least 2-3 years for China to realize its own mobile phone operating system.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.