[ad_1]
The two mobile operating systems currently account for nearly 100% of the global smartphone market. Building a phone is hard, and for most phone makers, there are better uses of resources, especially when Android is there to exploit. Although this represents a potential distinction, these companies have largely chosen to maintain Google’s mobile operating system, which is customized to unique skins and features.
Huawei recently bucked this trend with the release of Harmony OS, although that was a direct result of geopolitical restrictions on the use of US products. Despite its vast resources, the Chinese electronics giant has suffered greatly as it seeks to build its own alternative to Android.
Given its penchant for shaking up the market, it’s perhaps not entirely surprising that London-based Nothing was able to build its own mobile operating system from the ground up. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Wednesday, founder and CEO Carl Pei confirmed that the company is exploring what true Nothing OS could look like.
Lee praised smartphones as “our most important gateway to the people we care about and the information we need to consume,” while criticizing Google and Apple’s duopoly in the industry.
“We are thinking about how we can maneuver here and maybe create something of our own,” he added. Some kind of operating system.”
The goals of such a move would be to expand Nil’s impact on the industry, while creating an entirely new revenue stream.
“Now you can make an impact on the software side,” Pai explained. “You can change how people use their devices. Business-wise, it’s also very profitable. In some ways, it’s bad to be a hardware company, because the supply chain, high capital expenditures, low margins, and high product-market risk are favorable. In many ways, it’s a good Getting some software revenue is more comfortable: higher profit margins but I think the most important thing is consumer satisfaction.
The founder said he believes the process of building a mobile operating system has become much easier, thanks to the recent artificial intelligence boom. This technology would also go a long way toward offering a level of customization that current platforms have been lacking.
“If you think about the technology stack of what an operating system is, I don’t think we need to work on the lower parts of the stack — the drivers and how the hardware communicates with the software and the kernel,” Pai added. “I don’t think we need to work on that, but we should work on innovating the user experience, because operating systems haven’t really changed in 40 years. Computers and smartphones and these devices have a lot of information about us. We do a lot with them, but they don’t benefit from it.” Of any of that information to make the experience better.
Asked whether the company was looking to raise funds to build such a project, Pei declined to comment.
“I don’t think it takes much experience,” he said. This is an application of artificial intelligence, and this is not basic. We’re not building capabilities, we’re not training large language models, we’re not building text-to-speech or any of that. That ship has sailed, and it’s going to get very competitive. Two or three players will win big and the rest will lose money.
“Regardless of whether funding comes in or not, this is something we can work on,” Bee continues.
He explained that artificial intelligence will be an important part of this operating system, but not everything, ultimately.
“We shouldn’t call it an AI operating system,” he said. “AI is just a tool, and ultimately it’s about who can make the best product, who can create the best market fit, and get the highest level of user satisfaction. Because without that, it won’t work.”
[ad_2]