Tencent, perhaps best known for its WeChat platform, is a social networking and online entertainment giant in China. Signaling its intention to broaden its reach further, it this week unveiled an open operating system for connected devices ranging from wearables such as smartwatches to TVs and even virtual reality headsets. Based on Android, Tencent Operating System (or TOS+ for short) will be offered to developers and manufacturers for free but will require a revenue sharing agreement.
“We want to inject more content into smart hardware systems and have connectivity across different terminals,” explained Zhong Xiangping, head of TOS+, at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing.
Google has used a similar model to great success in most of the world but it has struggled in China where most of its services are not available. Tencent will offer its own offerings which include not only WeChat but also shopping, gaming and other mobile services.
No smartwatches or other wearables running TOS+ have yet to be announced but it is early days yet. A number of software and hardware partners including Qualcomm have already been announced so device announcements should follow in the coming months.
TOS+ will also allow Tencent to compete directly against Alibaba which already offers YunOS which Meizu uses on some of its smartphones. It will also compete against Baidu’s DuWear wearables operating platform.