Kommersant learned about the plans of Sberbank, VK and Yandex to create a new mobile OS

SberbankVK, «Yandex” and “Rostelecom» plan to create a company that will develop a mobile operating system (OS) based on the open source code of Android and create mobile applications compatible with it. They will replace Google Mobile Services (GMS). About it informed Kommersant, citing a source in the government and in the electronics market.

“So far, there is no formal consortium, but major players are ready to unite to develop a platform. It is needed by everyone who wants their applications to have adequate functionality, ”said one of the interlocutors.

It is specified that the new OS will be aimed at the consumer segment. The Aurora OS, developed by Rostelecom, will mainly be used in the public sector.

According to the newspaper, the development of a new OS based on Android is actually following the path Huawei, which since 2018 has lost its partnership with Google after the introduction of US sanctions against it. Huawei has begun developing the Harmony OS based on open Android, the AppGallery app store, and the Huawei Mobile Service (HMS) platform. In 2021, the number of AppGallery users reached 580 million people, in general, 730 million people use HMS services, and 5 million developers are involved in their creation.

How much it will cost to create a new operating system in Russia is still unknown. However, according to the newspaper’s sources, the creation of an OS based on Android will be much cheaper than the development of Aurora, which, according to the operator, can cost 480 billion rubles. until 2030. This is due to the fact that most of the applications of Russian developers have already been adapted for Android, while their adaptation to Aurora will require time and investment. According to one of the sources, the creation of a new OS may take no more than a year.