Huawei has previously described Hongmeng as an operating system designed for internet-of-things products and last month announced the first major devices powered by Hongmeng would be its upcoming line of Honor-brand smart TVs.
If the company is able to release a Hongmeng-powered smartphone it would mark a major step for the company, the world’s second-biggest maker of smartphones, as U.S. government trade actions have threatened its access to Google’s Android operating system.
The device will be priced at around 2,000 yuan (£236), according to sources quoted by the Global Times, placing the device towards the low-end segment of the smartphone market.
Huawei has played down the development of an operating system for its phones and chairman Liang Hua has said the company would prefer to use Google’s Android operating system for its mobile devices, while suggesting that Hongmeng was part of Huawei’s “long-term strategy”.