Goodbye, Android: how Huawei is building its digital empire without Google and Microsoft

15:37
29.10.2024
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Hello, tekkix residents! This is Dasha Volkova from MTS Digital. Huawei is preparing for a decisive step - a complete abandonment of Android in its ecosystem. Work in this direction has been going on for several years, and now, it seems, everything is ready for the final push. The company is going to transfer its devices to its own operating system HarmonyOS Next. It is written from scratch, and there is not a single line of Android code in it. The decision will affect both new gadgets and already released devices. Details under the cut.

Goodbye, Android. Hello, HarmonyOS Next

The path to developing HarmonyOS Next has been long, but for the past four years, Huawei has been working extremely actively on its own OS. The Stakhanovite pace was set in 2019 when Google banned Huawei from using its mobile services. The situation was difficult. Huawei lost a significant part of its market share in smartphones, as users did not want to install Google Play, Gmail, and YouTube on their own.

Goodbye, Android: Huawei presents its new operating system HarmonyOS

An alternative was urgently needed. In December 2019, Huawei introduced its set of services, Huawei Mobile Services, aiming to help users. Unfortunately, for the Chinese company's management, this did not solve the problem of declining sales. Huawei realized that a single global alternative was needed, not piecemeal changes. Therefore, the corporation began to actively work on creating an ecosystem independent of Google. HarmonyOS Next is the central element of this strategy.

Huawei demonstrates independence from Google and <a href='/topics/microsoft'>Microsoft</a> with HarmonyOS

A huge amount of work has been done, and it seems not in vain. At the end of October 2024, the release of the stable version of HarmonyOS Next was released. This operating system will replace Android on all company devices. And not only Android, but also Windows.

HarmonyOS Next: Evolution or Revolution?

A new era for Huawei: transitioning from Android to its own ecosystem

The operating system is unlike previous versions. In short, unlike forks based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), on which previous releases of HarmonyOS were built, Next is completely independent.

HarmonyOS Next capabilities:

Completely updated interface. In HarmonyOS Next, dynamic wallpapers, animations, and stylish design. All this, according to the company, makes the user's interaction with the OS more intuitive and comfortable.
Improved smart assistant Xiaoyi. AI integration allows the digital assistant to perform complex tasks, such as summarizing large documents, editing images with gestures. Moreover, Xiaoyi helps synchronize and manage actions on different Huawei devices.
Star Shield security architecture. Provides enhanced data protection, controls application access to personal information, and minimizes permission requests.
Cross-device interaction. File transfer, data synchronization, and screen sharing capabilities between Huawei devices have been improved thanks to the new Distributed Soft Bus protocol.
Performance improvement. The improved Ark Engine ensures smoother system operation, increases autonomy, and expands multitasking capabilities.
Support for more than 15,000 applications. The HarmonyOS Next ecosystem is actively expanding, including applications and services for various industries, making the system more versatile. Western and domestic specialists are involved in the development of such a large amount of software.

Such updates make HarmonyOS Next not only a more powerful but also a secure system capable of competing with other mobile OS.

As for the "hardware", the new version of the operating system is aimed at working with devices that use Huawei Kirin processors and some older models on Snapdragon. It supports smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and other devices thanks to its microkernel architecture and optimization for Huawei's proprietary components.

HarmonyOS Next provides support for modern standards such as 5.5G and Bluetooth BLE 6.0, and uses its own architecture based on OpenHarmony. This allows for a 30% performance increase compared to previous versions. Devices capable of working with these technologies are likely to be compatible with the new OS.

A new path for all Huawei devices

From the very beginning, HarmonyOS was conceived as one of the most important components of the company's ecosystem. Huawei plans to expand the functionality of the system, making it universal for all its products, including laptops, PCs, smartwatches, tablets, and other devices.

Which models and in what order will start receiving updates is still unclear. But Huawei is already working with developers, and now about 10,000 applications support HarmonyOS Next. This demonstrates the company's desire not only to compete with Android and iOS but also to create a full-fledged ecosystem that covers both mobile devices and desktop solutions.

Not only Android: the course towards abandoning Windows

HarmonyOS: how Huawei is creating an alternative to Android

Huawei is not limited to abandoning only Android. The company's plans include a complete replacement of Windows on its laptops with the new version of HarmonyOS Next. Huawei plans to implement HarmonyOS primarily for the MateBook line of laptops. Although the exact list of models has not yet been published, it is known that the company is already preparing next-generation devices with the new OS.

These could be new MateBooks as well as representatives of the MatePad line, which will support PC mode using HarmonyOS. Huawei is working on expanding functionality, including improved AI tools and deep integration with other devices in the ecosystem, as I mentioned earlier.

There is no information yet on whether Huawei plans to release dual-boot devices (Windows and HarmonyOS). But with the course towards independence, the company will most likely fully switch to its own OS. And as quickly as possible.