MObIle OS ArChITeCTure TrendS

The world is flat, because it becomes increasingly mobile, fast, connected, and secure. People expect to move around easily with their mobile devices, keeping close communications with their partners and family, enjoying the versatile usage models and infinite contents, and without worrying about the device and data management. These all put requirements on the mobile devices, of which the mobile OS is the soul. Based on our years of experience in mobile OS design and an extensive survey of current industry situation, we believe there are several commonalities in future mobile OS architecture, such as user experience, power management, security design, cloud support, and openness design. We develop an analysis model to guide our investigation. In this article, we describe our investigations in the trends of mobile OS architecture over the next decade by focusing on the major commonalities. Based on the findings, we also review the characteristics of today’s mobile operating systems from the perspective of architecture trends.