In a move poised to reshape the technological landscape in China, Huawei is spearheading an ambitious initiative to develop an indigenous operating system, HarmonyOS, as a viable alternative to Windows and Android. This initiative is showcased at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Centre in Shenzhen, where diverse devices—from drones to supermarket checkout systems—demonstrate a future dominated by Huawei’s software.
The Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Centre, supported by local government, encourages collaboration among authorities, companies, and hardware manufacturers to develop software using OpenHarmony. This open-source version of Huawei’s HarmonyOS was launched five years ago following U.S. sanctions that severed support for Google’s Android.
As Huawei continues to make headlines with its cutting-edge smartphones, the company has also been quietly strengthening its expertise in various tech sectors crucial to China’s vision of self-sufficiency. This includes operating systems and in-vehicle software, aligning with President Xi Jinping’s directive to localize key technologies amidst U.S. trade restrictions.
OpenHarmony is being promoted within China as a “national operating system” amid concerns that other companies might face similar restrictions to those imposed on Huawei. “This strategic move will likely erode the market share of Western operating systems like Android and Windows in China, as local products gain traction,” said Sunny Cheung, an associate fellow at the Jamestown Foundation.
In Q1 2024, Huawei’s HarmonyOS surpassed Apple’s iOS to become the second best-selling mobile operating system in China, trailing only Android, according to Counterpoint Research. Although HarmonyOS has not yet launched on smartphones outside China, its growing domestic popularity indicates a shift in the competitive landscape.
Huawei no longer controls OpenHarmony, having transferred its source code to the OpenAtom Foundation in 2020 and 2021. Despite this, both the innovation centre and government documents frequently refer to OpenHarmony and HarmonyOS interchangeably, emphasizing their role in the broader Harmony ecosystem. Analysts predict that HarmonyOS, expected to be rolled out in a PC version soon, will drive wider adoption of OpenHarmony.
Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, lauded Harmony’s potential at a recent developer conference. “Harmony has created a powerful foundational operating system for the future of China’s devices,” he said.
Huawei first unveiled HarmonyOS in August 2019, shortly after Washington imposed trade restrictions. Since then, China has ramped up its efforts to achieve technological self-sufficiency, moving away from GitHub and promoting Gitee, a local code-sharing hub.
China banned the use of Windows on government computers in 2014, which now predominantly use Linux-based systems. Microsoft, which derives only about 1.5% of its revenue from China, is seemingly unaffected by this shift. Meanwhile, Huawei has launched a “pure” version of HarmonyOS that no longer supports Android-based apps, further diverging China’s app ecosystem from the global market.
A report from the Jamestown Foundation highlighted that OpenAtom is coordinating efforts among Chinese firms to develop alternatives to U.S. technologies, including applications for defense such as satellites. The rapid growth of OpenHarmony, which saw contributions from over 70 organizations and 460 products across various sectors, underscores China’s commitment to creating a robust, homegrown tech ecosystem.
The open-source nature of OpenHarmony aims to replicate the success of Android by eliminating licensing costs and offering companies a customizable platform for their products. “Harmony will definitely grow into a mainstream operating system, and will give the world a new choice besides iOS and Android,” said Charlie Cheng, deputy manager of the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Centre.
The Harmony ecosystem has received strong support from Huawei’s home city of Shenzhen, often a testing ground for national policies. Additional Harmony centers are planned for cities across China, reflecting the project’s broad support.
Key developers, such as Shenzhen Kaihong Digital and Chinasoft, are crucial to OpenHarmony’s progress, working on projects ranging from Tianjin Port infrastructure to mines in Shaanxi. While OpenHarmony remains largely China-centric, the Brussels-based Eclipse Foundation is developing Oniro, an OpenHarmony-based system for mobile phones and IoT devices.
Huawei’s expanding smartphone market share and efforts to develop a comprehensive ecosystem give HarmonyOS a competitive edge. Over 900 million devices currently run on HarmonyOS, with 2.4 million developers actively engaged in the ecosystem. “OpenHarmony will need more time and iterations to gain developers’ confidence,” said Emma Xu, an analyst with Canalys. “But the reputation and success of HarmonyOS will undoubtedly have a positive impact.”
As China pursues technological self-sufficiency, HarmonyOS stands as a testament to the country’s innovation and resilience in the face of global challenges.