Xiaomi isn’t a popular brand in markets outside China, but its smartphones have outsold the iPhone in the People’s Republic. Its products are quite popular in the Chinese market and the company is now expected to make a push into the international market. They’ve a new front man to lead the charge, former Google Android executive Hugo Barra. According to a number of Chinese websites, the company might be developing its very own OS called MiOS. Xiaomi’s next flagship smartphone, the MI4, is expected to be the first device to run on MiOS.
According to the reports, MiOS is based on Linux kernel and runs apps through a browser, this means that the apps are likely to be based on JavaScript or HTML5. It is said that Xiaomi’s R&D division took MiOS up as a project earlier this year, in April to be precise. Xiaomi’s smartphones run on Android right now, one can’t be sure if the company will immediately switch all of its devices to MiOS once it comes out. The company’s OS won’t have access to the Play Store or have Google services built-in like they are on Android, these drawbacks probably won’t hamper its success in the Chinese market, but to aid its international expansion plans, Xiaomi might have to hold on to Android for a little bit longer.