With Huawei’s new operating system, Android no longer seems necessary. It shows that the company can also manage just fine on its own.
Huawei and Android have always had a good relationship, yet in 2019 it seemed to be heading for a divorce. Due to U.S. regulations, Google stopped all Android updates for Huawei devices. To become truly independent of the Android ecosystem, Huawei invested heavily in its own operating system, HarmonyOS NEXT.
Since it lost access to American technology, the company has been working hard on this project. What started out as a kind of Android 2.0 has grown into a fully autonomous system. We give you a first look.
Huawei’s new operating system makes you forget about Android
HarmonyOS NEXT runs on Huawei’s own kernel and supports only HarmonyOS apps, completely sidelining Android. After internal testing and a beta version in October, users in China can already try it out on several Huawei devices. Think Mate 60 series, the Pocket 2 and MatePad Pro tablets.
Huawei is already making great strides. HarmonyOS NEXT has more than 15,000 apps ready to go that, according to Huawei itself, offer just about everything you need. The system is also heavily focused on AI, with features such as Voice Repair to improve voices in audio recordings, and a smart assistant called Xiaoyi.
The new operating system (Image: Huawei)
To stop users thinking of Android, Huawei has given the entire system a fresh look. You’ll notice that right away with the revamped lock screen and widgets. The new interface has been given a sleek, minimalist style reminiscent of iOS, with widgets smartly adjusting to your background.
Is it coming to foreign countries as well?
For now, HarmonyOS NEXT is only available in China, but Huawei’s chairman, Xu Zhijun, has already hinted that the company has international ambitions. He wants HarmonyOS to grow into a serious global player alongside Android and iOS.
An ambitious move, as the success of the system depends on Huawei being able to attract enough developers to fill the app store and launch the system in other markets.
The big question is whether HarmonyOS NEXT will really be able to challenge Android and iOS globally. But one thing is clear: Huawei is not going to let itself off the hook and is going all out to make HarmonyOS a success.