Huawei buys time with its fledgling Harmony OS as it waits to see if it can still use Google’s Android

Huawei Technologies has officially unveiled its self-made operating system, saying that migrating apps from Android to the new system is relatively easy but that it would prefer to continue using Google’s Android OS on its smartphones if allowed.

“Huawei’s Harmony OS is ready for smartphones anytime,” Richard Yu Chengdong, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, said at the start of the company’s 2019 Developer Conference on Friday. “Migrating Android apps to Harmony is very easy and only requires one or two days’ work.”

However, Huawei is not planning to install Harmony on its smartphones yet as Google’s Android remains the top choice and it wants to protect the current app ecosystem, Yu said.

Harmony [known as Hongmeng in Chinese] has been widely anticipated after the world’s number two smartphone vendor was put on a US trade blacklist in May, blocking its ability to buy a range of American-made technology including Google’s Android for smartphones and Microsoft’s Windows operating system for personal computers. Yu said Harmony was capable of supporting a range of products and its own ecosystem, and is compatible with all Android applications and existing web applications.

Analysts gave the launch a cautious welcome.

“Using Harmony on other devices first, instead of smartphones, is a thoughtful move by Huawei,” said Jia Mo, an analyst from research agency Canalys. “Huawei needs to consider its relationship with Google and it has still not had definitive word from the US that it has been banned from using Android for good.”