Huawei secures JD.com as HarmonyOS partner as home-grown software emerges as alternative for Apple iOS, Android in China
- JD.com will build an app for HarmonyOS Next, based on the intelligence innovations in the next iteration of Huawei’s mobile platform
- Huawei is pushing for wider adoption of HarmonyOS, which is projected to surpass Apple’s iOS in China this year
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com will build an app for HarmonyOS Next, based on the intelligence innovations in the next iteration of Huawei’s mobile platform and its ability to support transitions between multiple scenarios, Richard Yu Chengdong, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, said on Wednesday.
Calling JD.com “a heavyweight partner”, Yu said the partnership marks a new milestone for HarmonyOS in a post on social media platform Weibo.
While Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS will continue to dominate the global smartphone operating system sector, Huawei’s self-developed HarmonyOS will take some ground from both US giants in China, driven by the firm’s smartphone comeback with the Mate 60 series, according to TechInsights.
HarmonyOS is also projected to reach a milestone in 2024 with the launch of HarmonyOS Next, which will not support Android-based apps.
A developer preview of HarmonyOS Next is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2024. Huawei is already working with major Chinese companies to develop native apps based on the system.