The Remix OS story began in 2014. The platform takes Android and makes it usable on a desktop device. There’s an app launcher, taskbar and multi-window support that are all visually similar to their counterparts on Windows. Since its initial unveiling, Remix OS has been used on a handful of low-cost Jide mini PCs and has been released as a standalone operating system.
Today, Jide announced it is “restructuring” its approach to Remix OS. While the operating system is the most accomplished desktop interpretation of Android to date, adoption has been slow. Most consumers are still unaware of its existence and in any case still tend to prefer Windows PCs.
Jide said it has heard from enterprises that want to use its technology to accelerate their businesses. It added that it has started building “great tools” for organisations and now intends to shift its focus to their continued development. It didn’t elaborate on the details of its work, only saying it sees “huge potential” in the projects it is building.
“Over the past year, we received an increasing number of inquiries from enterprises in various industries, and began helping them build great tools for their organizations by leveraging Jide software and hardware,” said Jide. “We see huge potential in the role that Jide can play to revolutionize how these businesses operate. And given our existing resources, we decided to focus our company efforts solely on the enterprise space moving forward.”
Jide confirmed that development of Remix OS and its own hardware devices has been discontinued. Outstanding orders from the company’s online shop will be fully refunded next month. The company is also going to be refunding backers of its ongoing Kickstarter campaign for its Remix IO project.
The details of Jide’s restructuring remain unknown. Although the company has said it wants to dedicate itself to the enterprise market, it’s not clear why this shift has necessitated a cancellation of outstanding orders. The sudden announcement has surprised fans, many of whom were awaiting the company’s upcoming Remix IO device. It was intended to be an Android-powered mini media box meant to be used for living room entertainment and gaming.
Jide said it thanked its fans for their commitment to Remix OS. It noted that its initial goal was to “help bring the next billion people online” by creating affordable computing solutions powered by Android. Evidently, that hasn’t happened in the way the company intended, leading it to look elsewhere to find customers for its technology.
