In August 2019, Huawei's CEO spoke at the company's annual developer conference to announce HarmonyOS, its new multi-device operating system.
The announcement was clearly a thinly veiled response to the political events of the past year, but the message is clear: If Huawei gives up on Android, it can do so later.
For now, it's a smart device operating system leading the charge alongside other unified operating systems like Google Fuchsia.
HarmonyOS (formerly HongMeng, codenamed) is a platform designed for a variety of devices. It is currently for IoT devices such as smart displays or smart appliances. Honor TV is the first product with an operating system, although other similar products have since been announced, including Huawei TV.
Given the political situation between the United States and China (see: Huawei ban) and the impact it has had on Huawei's access to Android over the past year, it is not surprising that the brand presents a confident and confident attitude.
Cut to the hunt
- What is Huawei's new operating system, ready to operate on various products
- When did he come out? In China, you can buy HarmonyOS products, but it could be 2020 earlier than elsewhere.
- How much will it cost? HarmonyOS will not cost you, even though your products may
HarmonyOS price and release date
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HarmonyOS will be free to use, as long as you have a device running the operating system, but even the best Huawei devices are affordable, it shouldn't be too difficult.
You can wait a moment before using HarmonyOS. It is used in Huawei's Honor TVs and TVs, but they are currently only available in China, and we have heard that the upcoming Huawei Watch GT smartwatch will run on the operating system, but a release from this version remains to be done.
As we will see later, HarmonyOS on Huawei smartphones has not changed yet, if it happens, outside of China, we may be waiting a long time to test the operating system.
How does HarmonyOS work?
Huawei says that with the rise of the IoT device, a more efficient operating system is needed. With these IoT devices containing less memory and storage than the best smartphones, they need much simpler code. For 100 lines of Android code, you can only have one line of HarmonyOS code.
Despite this, HarmonyOS can still provide powerful features on all devices.
By taking a "single core across devices" approach, Huawei also aims to create a shared ecosystem of different devices, cross silos, and save developers time. An app can be deployed to a car headunit, smart watch, fitness monitor and speaker, and it works flawlessly.
We had already seen something similar, especially in Windows Phone, which shared a kernel with Windows 10. Although this was not a success, Huawei could have a quick solution: compatibility with Android.
(Image credit: LaComparacion)
HarmonyOS started life as a TV operating system, to create seamless and fluid streaming opportunities between devices, so that a user can make a video call on their phone, switch it over to the TV in the kitchen, and then continue in the living room. . After that, they could take a phone call, move from room to room, and follow the call to switch from one smart speaker to another.
HarmonyOS will also feature in clocks, speakers, and car mounts in the future, but it is not limited to these categories of devices. Also, it is open source, Huawei publishes developer support promises along the line.
HarmonyOS will also be an open source platform, allowing developers to provide applications for the platform and other smartphone manufacturers who may even choose to use the operating system.
Is HarmonyOS ready to replace Android on phones?
When HarmonyOS was introduced, Yu was clear about Huawei's current position: "When can we install it on our smartphones? We can do it at any time, but for the partnership with Google and its effectiveness, the priority will be Google Android OS... If we can't use it in the future, we can move on from android.
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He said the change would be "quick and easy," presenting conflicting comments and clearly preserving his company's association with Google, at least for now.
Following his announcement, Yu refrained from committing to a switch from Android to HarmonyOS for the time being, and it appears that Huawei's President of Global Media and Communications Joy Tan agreed, suggesting that HarmonyOS will not replace Android on Huawei phones.
Tan said "that a viable alternative to the Android operating system will take years", apparently contradictory statements made during the debut of HarmonyOS, but it only shows that n & # 39; There are no immediate plans for HarmonyOS to be available on Huawei phones.