Huawei has global ambitions for ‘pure blood’ OS, but China is the focus for now

The Chinese tech giant says all of its new devices in 2025 will be equipped with HarmonyOS Next, its home-grown Android rival

Reading Time:3 minutes

A Huawei store at the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 28 Nov 2024

Huawei Technologies’ launch of its fully self-developed mobile operating system next year will focus on the Chinese market, as attempts to push the Android-free platform overseas face challenges, according to analysts.

The US-sanctioned Chinese handset maker said on Tuesday that all of its smartphones and tablets to be launched in 2025 will run on HarmonyOS Next, the latest iteration of Huawei’s self-developed mobile platform that no longer supports Android apps.

The flagship Mate 70 series, launched on Tuesday and shipping on December 4, is the Chinese tech giant’s first line of smartphones running on HarmonyOS Next. However, users who wish to can still choose the older, Android-based HarmonyOS 4.3, according to Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group.

Huawei’s planned roll-out of HarmonyOS Next on all its new devices next year will be “challenging”, given the limited pool of compatible apps at the moment, according to Rich Bishop, CEO of AppInChina, which publishes international software in China.

Visitors check out Huawei’s Mate 70 smartphones at a store in Beijing. Photo: EPA-EFE

It would be particularly difficult to engage international developers that make little money in China, as they may find the cost of developing and maintaining dedicated versions of apps for HarmonyOS Next too high, according to Bishop.