Huawei Technologies is set to debut its long-awaited homegrown mobile operating system “HarmonyOS Next” on Tuesday, touting it as an alternative to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. The telecoms equipment giant is bringing together domestic tech companies to build China’s mobile ecosystem amid US sanctions. .
HarmonyOS Next will be generally available starting Tuesday on Huawei’s Mate 60 series, Mate X5 foldable smartphones, and the company’s 13.2-inch tablet MatePad Pro.
HarmonyOS Next, which Huawei touts as being completely indigenously developed, no longer supports Android-based applications and is referred to as “pure-bred” HarmonyOS in China.
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The new mobile platform, made available to Chinese developers in January, is “a new life for growth,” said Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, at a corporate event in Shanghai last month. Chendong said.
“We covered more than a decade of foreign operating system ecosystem development trajectory in just one year,” Yu added.
Richard Yu Chendong, chairman of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, exhibits the world’s first commercial tri-fold smartphone “Mate XT” in Shenzhen on September 10, 2024. Photo: Xinhua alt=Richard Yu Chendong, Chairman of Huawei Consumer Business Group, exhibited the world’s first commercial tri-fold smartphone “Mate XT” in Shenzhen on September 10, 2024. Photo: Xinhua>
Last month, Huawei mobilized Chinese app developers to support the operating system in a “sworn-in ceremony” ahead of its launch, according to a Sept. 26 blog post on Huawei’s website. It is said that
According to Huawei, all prominent Chinese big tech companies attended the meeting, including Baidu, JD.com, Meituan, and Tencent Holdings. The company says more than 10,000 applications and native services have been developed for HarmonyOS Next.
According to Huawei, vice chairman Eric Shu Zhijun said at the conference, “HarmonyOS can become a true mobile OS only with its own ecosystem.”
“We want all application owners, including governments, businesses, and institutions, to be able to develop native versions of HarmonyOS,” Xu said.
Huawei first launched HarmonyOS as an Android replacement product for the Chinese market in August 2019. Just months later, the U.S. government added the Shenzhen-based company to a trade blacklist that prohibits it from purchasing U.S.-originated technology without Washington’s approval.
A pedestrian is seen in the window of one of the Huawei stores in Beijing, China, on September 11, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg alt=A pedestrian is seen in the window of one of the Huawei stores in Beijing, China, September 11, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg>
Domestic adoption of mobile platforms surged last year, with Huawei returning to the 5G terminal segment last year with its Mate 60 series of smartphones.
According to a report by Counterpoint, HarmonyOS accounted for 17% of China’s smartphone market in the first three months of this year, doubling its presence year-on-year and overtaking Apple’s iOS to become second in mainland China. It has become a major mobile OS. In June.
According to the research firm, Android continued to dominate China’s mobile market with a 68% share during the same period, while iOS was slightly behind with a 16% share.
The planned release of HarmonyOS Next comes days after Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou (daughter of founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei) took back the helm of the company under a rotating chair system. It will be done.
Meng, 52, will also oversee the fourth-quarter launch of Huawei’s next flagship 5G device series, the Mate 70.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative news organization on China and Asia for more than a century. For more stories from SCMP, explore the SCMP app or visit SCMP on Facebook. Twitter page. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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