For several years, large players have been battling it out in the telecommunications market for the title of the creator of the best operating system. iOS or Android OS are systems you've heard of, running on hardware produced by Apple or smartphones based on patents developed by Google. However, a new contender has been pushing its way into this ring for some time. It's HarmonyOS, the operating system from Chinese player Huawei.
The annual Huawei Developer Conference is a special event in the development of the Chinese brand. The manufacturer usually presents new mobile hardware models intended to conquer the global market. At least, that's the image of the big e-event that sticks in the minds of the brand's fans. Additionally, since 2019, the company has been offering much more – it announced the launch of the HarmonyOS operating system, which aims to compete with Android. It's worth fighting for, because according to the analytical company Counterpoint Research, the global smartphone market was worth 448 billion dollars in 2021. In the year of HarmonyOS's premiere, the company announced that outside of China it had 100 million users who had made over a billion downloads from the Huawei AppGallery app store. These figures could have impressed many people even back then. And today, they look even more impressive.
HarmonyOS, Huawei's System: First Steps
Geopolitics was one of the reasons HarmonyOS, Huawei's system, came to market. In a trade war with China, President Trump targeted one of the Middle Kingdom's flagship products and simply banned it from the US. As a result, owners of Huawei-branded hardware were deprived of access to many features, including applications offered by Google. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that a lack of access to an app store (and more) turns a smartphone into a useless toy with an alarm clock function. This is exactly what many current and potential Huawei customers thought at the time, and they began to distance themselves from the brand. The company was thus left with no choice but to strike with full force and develop its own version of the operating system.
Huawei's first step was to use a clean version of Android to implement the App Gallery store and a suite of proprietary services. This was intended to quickly achieve independence from Google and American products while retaining customers. The next step was the discontinuation of Android system updates for Huawei devices and an update based on the HarmonyOS system. The company stated that by mid-2021, the system update – HarmonyOS 2 – already had over 120 million users. The catch is that these are primarily residents of the brand's home country, China. The expansion of HarmonyOS into global markets looks less impressive. According to promises made by brand managers, over 100 models of various devices, including watches, tablets, and of course phones, are to run on HarmonyOS 2 in the first half of 2022. By the end of the year, HarmonyOS version 2 is expected to appear on 300 million devices – 200 million being the brand's own devices, and the rest being partner products. Well, it's worth taking them at their word.
HarmonyOS – How Does the New System Work?
HarmonyOS 2 is available in Poland on some Huawei devices. It can be used on smartphones from the Watch 3 series, as well as on the MatePad 11 tablet, among others. Users of other devices from the Chinese manufacturer receive system updates to EMUI 12 based on Android.
HarmonyOS is designed as a proprietary operating system, a platform intended to connect various types of devices – from in-car systems, laptops, tablets, smart speakers, and smartphones to many others. It is designed for the infrastructure of the future, where connected devices function within a single system. A characteristic feature of HarmonyOS is its flexible ability to adapt to different application requirements and varying hardware resources.
The aggregation of electronic hardware within the Huawei ecosystem is to be handled by a virtual super-device. Thanks to a control panel, controlling devices like a tablet or phone is to be simplified to a single gesture, allowing for connection establishment. Transferring audio from a device to headphones is to be similarly simple. In turn, transferring documents between individual devices is to be possible by dragging files between devices placed next to each other. A revolutionary element is also to be the ability to transfer video calls from a smartphone to a watch or TV. This is to be achievable with just one click. HarmonyOS is also intended to revolutionize smart homes. To pair individual devices, simply bring them close to each other. Of course, reading data about approaching stormy winds or, for example, barometric pressure is to be possible from the smartphone screen.
So much for the song of the future, which will likely one day storm all of China (which is a considerable nearly 1.5 billion people). With the rest of the world, there might be a bigger problem due to the division of the global pie. So far, two versions have been released – in 2019, version 1.0, followed by version 2.0. Many people who tested the system did not hold back their criticism due to the not-so-simple operation and lack of clarity. In 2022, version 3.0 is scheduled to be released, and can it herald a revolution? We'll see.
All these functionalities mean we are dealing with a global player. However, it's important to remember that while Huawei can enjoy a high position in China, competing with giants like Google or Apple in the rest of the world will be a significant challenge. Well, it's worth trying despite the wounds, as the Vikings say.
