- Chinese smartphone and home appliance maker Xiaomi announced a new operating system late Thursday as it looks to expand its ecosystem with the upcoming release of its own cars.
- Xiaomi will launch its car in the first half of next year, CEO and founder Lei Jun said on Chinese social media on Wednesday. He did not elaborate on whether it will be electric.
- Chinese electric car maker Neo released its own smartphone in the fall that is based on Android but aimed at greater integration with its vehicles.
The Xiaomi HyperOS logo will appear on the smartphone.
Soba picture Rocket Light | Getty Images
BEIJING – Chinese smartphone and home appliance maker Xiaomi announced a new operating system late Thursday – aimed at expanding its ecosystem with the upcoming release of its own cars.
Xiaomi shares rose more than 1% in Hong Kong trading on Friday morning, building on year-to-date gains of more than 20%.
The new system, called HyperOS, is set to reach consumers on October 31, when Xiaomi’s latest phones, wearables and TVs go on sale in China.
“This system represents an important step in Xiaomi’s strategic vision to deliver a human x car x home intelligent ecosystem,” the company said in a statement.
CEO and founder Lei Jun said on Chinese social media on Wednesday Xiaomi will launch their car in the first half of next year. He did not elaborate on whether it will be electric.
Technology companies have long sought to increase customer loyalty through operating systems such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei has developed its own operating system called HarmonyOS to replace Android. The company makes its own smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions and sells software for electric cars from partners.
At the end of September, Huawei claimed that the latest version of its operating system had crossed 60 million users. In total, Huawei says HarmonyOS is now running on more than 700 million devices.
Chinese electric car maker Neo released its own smartphone in the fall that is based on Android but aimed at greater integration with its vehicles.
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Xiaomi is known for its affordable smartphones and its MIUI user interface, which is based on the open source Android platform.
The core of its new HyperOS system “will be shaped by native Linux and Xiaomi Vela,” the company said. The Android press release simply notes that HyperOS enables “more stable frame rates and lower power consumption” than the stock Android version.
Xiaomi also praised the processing speed and security of HyperOS, listing several ways a smartphone, a car and a laptop can easily share content and access each other’s cameras on the new system.
In recent years, Xiaomi has expanded its hardware and consumer electronics business to account for about 22% of total sales in the second quarter, compared to about 37% for smartphones.
On Thursday, the company launched a smartphone for 3,999 yuan ($546), as well as a washing machine for 1,999 yuan and a refrigerator for 2,999 yuan. Xiaomi has an app that allows customers to remotely control device settings.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Huawei claimed in late September that the latest version of its operating system had surpassed 60 million users.
