Following speculations that the highly-anticipated Apple Intelligence will be launched along with the release of iOS 18.1 in late October, Chinese tech giant Huawei is now said to launch the country’s domestic mobile operating system, HarmonyOS Next, on Tuesday, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

Starting today, HarmonyOS Next will be available on Huawei’s Mate 60 series, the Mate X5 foldable smartphone, and the 13.2-inch MatePad Pro tablet, the report notes, suggesting that the home-grown mobile operating system of China is positioned as an alternative to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

It is worth noting that Huawei is promoting HarmonyOS Next as a fully independent operating system, which no longer supports Android-based applications, the South China Morning Post states.

HarmonyOS Next had made its debut among local developers earlier in January, the report states. In September, Chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group Richard Yu touted the system, saying that Huawei “covered the path of over a decade of foreign operating system ecosystem development in just one year.”

According to the report, Huawei rallied China’s app developers last month in preparation for the launch. Chinese tech giants like Baidu, JD.com, Meituan, and Tencent Holdings all gathered at the occasion. Citing information provided by Huawei, the report notes that over 10,000 apps and native services have been developed for HarmonyOS Next.

Huawei initially introduced HarmonyOS in August 2019 as an alternative to Android, shortly after the U.S. government placed the company on a trade blacklist in May of the same year, restricting its access to U.S. technologies without approval from Washington.

According to the report, HarmonyOS saw a surge in domestic adoption last year, fueled by Huawei’s re-entry into the 5G smartphone market with the launch of its Mate 60 series.

After the official release of HarmonyOS Next, the new Rotating CEO for the company, Sabrina Meng, will also oversee the launch of Huawei’s upcoming flagship 5G smartphone series, the Mate 70, slated for the fourth quarter, the report notes.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

Following US sanctions in August 2019, Huawei’s internal operating system backup, HarmonyOS, emerged and has been in development for nearly 5 years. Currently, HarmonyOS is widely recognized, and its native version is set to launch on June 21st, marking the cornerstone of Huawei’s ambitious HarmonyOS project.

According to a report from UDN, Huawei is pursuing a dual-track development strategy for HarmonyOS. Internally, it focuses on its “1+8+N” terminal business strategy: “1” refers to smartphones, “8” includes large screens (TVs), tablets, PCs, wearables, car units, and more, while “N” covers a wide range of IoT devices. This approach aims to expand and flourish the HarmonyOS ecosystem.

In essence, HarmonyOS follows two main paths, while the first shares similar market positioning with current market leaders Android and iOS in the consumer sector, primarily focused on Huawei’s own terminal devices, aiming to expand the HarmonyOS ecosystem within the consumer domain.

The second path is OpenHarmony, also known as Open Source HarmonyOS. Reportedly, this initiative involves Huawei’s ecosystem partners leveraging Huawei’s donated OpenHarmony code base to develop their own commercial versions of HarmonyOS. These partners utilize their industry expertise and resources to vertically expand into sectors such as education, finance, transportation, and more. OpenHarmony primarily targets industrial applications.

Vertically, Huawei is reportedly looking to integrate HarmonyOS and OpenHarmony through foundational technology, establishing interoperability and connectivity to create an unified HarmonyOS. This strategic integration is designed to position HarmonyOS as a world-class operating system for the future IoT, aligning with Huawei’s ultimate goal of establishing HarmonyOS as a global IoT OS.

Recently, the unified device interconnection technology standards for OpenHarmony were officially released. Huawei’s Consumer Business Group Chairman, Richard Yu, recently disclosed plans to unify application and service ecosystems across Harmony OS and the commercial versions of OpenHarmony. This initiative aims to enhance consumer and industry experiences by sharing a unified HarmonyOS ecosystem that includes programming languages, compilers, and tools, thereby constructing a comprehensive smart terminal operating system.

Huawei is also said to be advancing another significant vertical initiative: the native HarmonyOS. Currently, Huawei has successfully developed the entire stack of HarmonyOS as an independent Chinese-made operating system, contrasting with the majority of global operating systems such as Android and iOS, which are based on the Linux or Unix kernel.

Huawei’s recent strides not only shape the future of HarmonyOS and OpenHarmony but also bolster Huawei’s autonomy and control. These developments are crucial for China’s tech enterprises, providing resilience against potential US sanctions. Whether in consumer or industrial sectors, the Mega HarmonyOS can be activated promptly, underscoring why numerous Chinese companies are joining the HarmonyOS ecosystem.