Explainer | Will Huawei’s Harmony operating system end the global duopoly of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS?
- Huawei’s HarmonyOS is designed for the Internet-of-Things era, with the ability to run on everything from smartphones and tablets to home appliances
- The Chinese tech giant has been working on its own OS since 2012, but the project became more critical when it was blacklisted by the US in 2019
However, questions abound about what exactly HarmonyOS is and whether it can compete with the Android/iOS smartphone duopoly.
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Can Huawei's Harmony OS for smartphones compete with Google's Android and Apple's iOS?
Here is what you need to know:
What is HarmonyOS?
At the time, the Shenzhen-based telecoms equipment maker said it would not install Harmony on its smartphones so it could continue to use Google’s Android to protect its app ecosystem. US restrictions, however, have persisted and become more stringent.
The Chinese smartphone giant also said at Harmony’s launch that the OS would eventually be used in PCs, wearables, cars, smart speakers, earphones and virtual reality glasses, among other products. With new partnerships unveiled with HarmonyOS 2, the system could eventually be found on Midea appliances and DJI drones.
Huawei pitches HarmonyOS 2.0 to Internet-of-Things market
Richard Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei’s consumer business group, said at the company’s 2019 developer conference that Huawei aims to make HarmonyOS the world’s most advanced operating system for the next-generation IoT applications.
Is Harmony just another version of Android?
HarmonyOS runs on Huawei’s own proprietary architecture, according to the company. However, it has admitted to using AOSP code and a Linux kernel in smartphones, raising questions about whether it is just another version of Android
Huawei originally said HarmonyOS would run on what is called a microkernel, ideal for less sophisticated IoT devices. This appears to still be the case, but it depends on what device the OS is running.
A kernel is the foundation of every OS, enabling software to interact with hardware. Most operating systems run on monolithic kernels, containing everything needed to run the system.
Microkernels are more modular, kind of like Lego bricks: the system can be broken down into smaller components and pieced back together to support future devices and enable specific features, Huawei product marketing senior manager James Lu told the Philippines-based tech site Revu in 2019.
This means microkernels are light and flexible. By running only basic operations, they can leave everything else to other parts of the system, making them better suited for IoT devices.
Monolithic kernels, on the other hand, may need to be adapted to specific devices, as is the case with Android.
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Then there are the apps.
Under the new multi-kernel design, HarmonyOS 2 using the Linux kernel appears to have apps that share many similarities with those on Android, only with different file extensions, technology news site Ars Technica reported.
The multi-kernel design makes HarmonyOS more like two different operating systems, similar to how Google and Apple develop different systems for different classes of devices. But Huawei’s vision is still to bridge the gap between devices.
“It is very complicated,” Yu said at the HarmonyOS launch in 2019. “The future development direction of the operating system is microkernel: we need to provide a future OS for the intelligent era [covering] all scenarios.”
What devices are getting HarmonyOS 2?
By June next year, HarmonyOS 2 will be available to nearly 100 of the company’s devices, Huawei said. Most Huawei smartphones will be able to upgrade to HarmonyOS from EMUI, including the Mate 40 and P40 series phones.
The MatePad Pro series of tablets are also eligible for an upgrade, and the latest version of the tablet ships with HarmonyOS 2 installed.
Huawei’s new Watch 3 series smartwatches ship with HarmonyOS 2, as well. This is likely where the LiteOS microkernel comes in, as Huawei Watch GT devices ran on that operating system.
HarmonyOS does not stop here, though. The company unveiled plans to put it in more TVs, cars and various IoT devices. Yu said the company has partnered with more than 1,000 hardware makers, 500,000 app developers and more than 300 service providers, enabling the company’s mobile operating system to run on more smart devices than those on Android.
Can HarmonyOS break up the Android and iOS duopoly?
Android and iOS have a stranglehold on smartphone operating systems, accounting for more than 99 per cent of mobile devices in May, according to StatCounter.
Operating systems tend to be a winner-take-all market, benefiting from network effects as developers and users coalesce around one or two popular systems. This has been alleviated somewhat in recent years in desktop environments owing to the increasing popularity of cross-platform web applications. The gulf between the native app and web app experience is greater on mobile, though, so consumers and developers prefer apps made for a specific OS.
The problem of attracting developers could be what sent Huawei back to the Linux kernel for smartphones and tablets. Past attempts to create Android alternatives have failed to overcome this problem.
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Even if it were not burdened by US sanctions, Huawei would still face significant challenges in making its new OS a success. Borrowing from AOSP could help with the transition, giving users compatible apps right off the bat while Huawei slowly develops HarmonyOS away from the shared codebase.
However, without access to Google, YouTube, Facebook and many other popular apps and services, the OS is unlikely to take off outside China. Many of these popular global services are already blocked in the country, though, so it could fare better there.
For now, though, most Chinese smartphone makers continue to use their own flavours of Android at home and abroad.