Huawei releases preview version of updated HarmonyOS Next as it accelerates shift away from Android
- The developer preview version of HarmonyOS Next was made available to coders on Thursday
- Over 200 industry partners have initiated the development of native apps for HarmonyOS
Huawei Technologies has unveiled the latest version of its home-grown mobile operating system HarmonyOS for developers, as the US-sanctioned telecommunications equipment giant takes on Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS in the Chinese market.
The developer preview version of HarmonyOS Next was made available to coders on Thursday, and the operating system will be launched for commercial use in the fourth quarter of this year, Huawei said at its developer conference.
HarmonyOS Next, billed as a major upgrade to Huawei’s mobile platform, will no longer support Android-based applications.
Over 200 industry partners have initiated the development of native HarmonyOS apps, and the company aims to get 5,000 partners on board by the end of 2024, Zhu Yonggang, president of Huawei Consumer Business Cloud Services, said at the Thursday event.
Meituan, the delivery services giant, has already finished the first version of its HarmonyOS app in the first batch of development partners, while other internet firms, such as lifestyle social media platform Xiaohongshu and online mapping service Amap, have also made progress.
Amap is backed by Alibaba Group Holding, the Post’s owner.
