It was not possible to agree on the development of a joint platform based on Android
Publishing «Kommersant» citing a source in the IT market reported that VK, Sber and Yandex were unable to agree on the joint development of a Russian mobile operating system based on Android. The creation of a consortium to create such an OS on the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Development became known at the end of 2022, but now each company will focus on creating its own platform.
According to the source, all companies are developing their OS for both the consumer and government segments. VK, Sber and Yandex are going to include their operating systems in the Ministry of Digital Development register. Yandex said that they are focusing on developing the YaOS system based on the open source AOSP (Android Open Source Project) for smart TVs and did not comment on plans to create a mobile OS. VK claims that they are not developing their own OS, and in Sberbank, at the request of «Kommersant» did not answer.
The information that VK, Sber and Yandex began to develop their own mobile OS after they failed to agree on joint development was confirmed by the creator of the venture fund «Strigo Capital» Dmitry Komissarov. But according to him, the company’s developments can hardly be called a full-fledged operating system; they are rather “cosmetic changes to open Android.” According to experts, none of the Russian companies will be able to take a significant share in the Russian market and compete with Android.