As a response to the US trade bans and numerous sanctions, Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is planning a big move that will see it ditch Android for its own HarmonyOS – in an upcoming update that will bring over 4,000 apps to the app store.
Having had a few troublesome years after the US initiated a ban on its products and services, many had anticipated that the company would lose out and eventually fall but that’s only given Huawei a new perspective on its business model, leading to numerous new developments that have shifted its brand to new heights.
Huawei has been making some serious technological leaps in its hardware division while also putting effort and millions of dollars behind its software development projects which are slowly gaining traction. The company has made bold plans to depart from Google’s Android operating system this year replacing it with their new HarmonyOS Next.
The HarmonyOS Next is expected to launch with the new Huawei Mate 70 series smartphones this year with many features. Reports suggest that the new HarmonyOS offers better memory efficiency and on-device AI capabilities than ever before.
However, the biggest concern many users are having right now is whether the operating system will have rich support for apps like its competitors Google and Apple app stores. And also, if the previous apps will be supported once the new OS drops.
When studied further, from user interface and animations to features, HarmonyOS Next and HarmonyOS are quite identical in every way though with recent updates, more is expected in the upcoming upgrade. Having over 4,000 apps, including popular names like Alipay and McDonald’s, Huawei aims to get the number up to 5,000 within the year, and eventually to 500,000.
Huawei has seen a lot of success with its previous flagship releases such as last year’s Mate 60 series including its Nova 12 and Pura 70 series, which have galvanised the trust of several Chinese corporations and businesses to take a stance with the company and have joined the race in developing apps for HarmonyOS Next.
In the first six weeks of 2024, Huawei’s smartphone sales in China surged 64% year-on-year with its market share climbing to 16.5% – ranked second only to Vivo, according to data from market research company Counterpoint Research. The sales were mainly driven by the Mate 60 series, boosted by strong brand loyalty and the successful launch of HarmonyOS, Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, told Caixin.
Aside from that, if Huawei’s HarmonyOS Next can pull in big apps like WeChat which has over a billion users, then the deal is almost done and sealed as this could propel other big social messenger apps like Telegram, TikTok and likes to join in too. If the company can secure support from major players, then its survival within China is set and the rest will be history.
Initially launched in 2019 as an OS for IoT devices, HarmonyOS was later adapted to run on smartphones and other hardware and is gradually shifting across all Huawei’s wearables, tablet computers, smartphones, and smart TVs to offer a unified experience across.
Official HarmonyOS Next launch video
How Apple and Google plan to respond to this will be noted soon though, it will be a wonderful step to see more competitive smartphone operating systems jump into the marketplace place breaking the monopoly hold which has seen the big three tech giants dominate for decades.
Let’s wait and see how Huawei steps up its game and hopefully, we get to see HarmonyOS Next and other new ventures rise to the challenge as they take on major competitors like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Of course, the road that lies ahead for Huawei won’t be without its challenges and only time will tell.
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