Chinese gov't pushes Huawei's HarmonyOS hard, sets adoption targets to beat Windows, Android, and iOS

Huawei
(Image credit: Huawei)

The local government of Shenzhen has launched a program to significantly boost the ecosystem of applications for Huawei's HarmonyOS, in a bid to make the platform more robust and competitive against foreign peers, reports ChinaScope citing the official Xinhua news agency. The story at Xinhua may signal that China has a broader plan for HarmonyOS. However, Huawei may have different goals for its HarmonyOS Next, reckons the Nikkei

Huawei's HarmonyOS — largely based on the open-source version of Google's Android — was a way for the company to get around crippling U.S. sanctions in 2019 and keep producing its popular high-end smartphones. Eventually, it was adopted for a whole range of Huawei's devices, including PCs, tablets, smartwatches, and even TVs. For now, HarmonyOS seems to be quite competitive in the smartphone market, though without apps like Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, it is not exactly competitive in Europe or the U.S. But for Chinese authorities and Huawei the HarmonyOS operating system could still be the most viable way to replace Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows-based hardware in China.

The Shenzhen Action Plan for HarmonyOS

This is perhaps why the Shenzhen government recently kicked off the 'Shenzhen Action Plan for Supporting the Development of Native HarmonyOS Open Source Applications in 2024.' The plan sets several goals to boost the development of software for HarmonyOS in the city and province.  

One major goal for native HarmonyOS applications in Shenzhen is to account for more than 10% of China's total by 2024. The plan includes establishing at least two specialized industrial parks for HarmonyOS software development in a variety of applications. It also sets a target for over 1,000 software companies in Shenzhen to have HarmonyOS development talent qualifications.  Furthermore, it encourages eligible companies to expand their outsourcing services for HarmonyOS application development, aiming to reach a scale of 500,000 HarmonyOS developers, which is pretty impressive if it comes to fruition. The initiative also aims for these applications to be fully adopted across Shenzhen's main industries.  

Huawei's Plan for HarmonyOS

Since HarmonyOS is open source, it can be adopted by everyone and for pretty much everything, just like the open-source Android. This will certainly make it a competitor for the closed-source Android and Apple's proprietary iOS according to the Nikkei story. 

Indeed, Huawei is teaming up with app developers and training coders to make apps just for HarmonyOS, aiming to create around three million jobs in the process. However, for now, this work is mostly focused on smartphones and IoT rather than on client PCs. 

Huawei's smartphones, especially the Mate 60 series, have been selling well in China, helping to set the stage for HarmonyOS. The company has grabbed a good chunk of the market share in China, with 16% of smartphones sold there now running HarmonyOS, which is important as it helps to persuade developers to make apps for this OS. 

Huawei plans to add over 5,000 apps to HarmonyOS to cover what most people do on their smartphones every day in China, which is presumably enough to compete against Apple (iOS) and Samsung (customized Android). For now, Huawei has some big names like Bilibili and Alipay on board to make apps for the new system. However, some big apps and smaller developers are still on the fence because of issues like having to share revenue with app stores. Then again, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This step has been made for sure.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • AkroZ
    HarmonyOS is composed of open source codes (like Android) but the OS is closed source.
    The kernel is open source, giving the possibility to make it run on various hardware.
    Luck is you need to contract Huawei if you want to customize the OS.
    Reply
  • Blessedman
    The Chinese are ambitious but completely based in their own reality. Their government is comprised of yes men that do not challenge the authority and explain how the competition has been established and literally has millions of apps for the OS's. NO one outside of China is going to trust this OS.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Blessedman said:
    NO one outside of China is going to trust this OS.
    There are lots of developing countries where lots of people still don't have a smart phone. To the extent they even know or care about the issues around privacy, I'm sure such concerns take a back seat to bigger issues like cost. If China wants to lock in a billion users very quickly, they just need to subsidize the phones in those markets, for a few years, and make sure local app developers are well catered for.

    If you look at where Huawei networking gear provides their infrastructure, you can probably get a pretty good idea of where the markets are ripe for their phones.
    Reply
  • passerby747
    Blessedman said:
    The Chinese are ambitious but completely based in their own reality. Their government is comprised of yes men that do not challenge the authority and explain how the competition has been established and literally has millions of apps for the OS's. NO one outside of China is going to trust this OS.
    I'm sorry but you don't speak for everyone. My friends were Huawei users before Trump's stupid sanctions were imposed. They would've kept using them if only their lives weren't tied up to Google.

    And some of our banks already have their apps for Harmony OS 3 and 4. I'm sure they'd do the same thing with HOS Next version.

    The world badly needs an alternative to ios/android duopoly.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    passerby747 said:
    The world badly needs an alternative to ios/android duopoly.
    It sounds like there's still Android at the core of it.

    Wouldn't you want an alternative to come out of a society that's more open, like most of Europe? I don't know too much about the corporate legal system in Japan or South Korea, but I'd even trust them more than China.
    Reply
  • gg83
    How could this possibly create 3 million jobs? Lmao! What a joke of another Huawei article
    Reply
  • williamcll
    AkroZ said:
    HarmonyOS is composed of open source codes (like Android) but the OS is closed source.
    The kernel is open source, giving the possibility to make it run on various hardware.
    Luck is you need to contract Huawei if you want to customize the OS.
    Situations like these is why OpenHarmony exists
    Reply
  • NinoPino
    Blessedman said:
    The Chinese are ambitious but completely based in their own reality.
    In the beginning I think this is the right strategy. Useful to not disperd efforts.
    Blessedman said:
    Their government is comprised of yes men that do not challenge the authority and...
    As in every big company or government in the world.
    Blessedman said:
    ... NO one outside of China is going to trust this OS.
    Who knows in the future ?
    Let's suppose that in 10 years HarmonyOS takes 90% of mobile market in China, what will the developers do ? Give up on the entire Chinese Market ?
    Reply
  • tomscomments
    AkroZ said:
    HarmonyOS is composed of open source codes (like Android) but the OS is closed source.
    The kernel is open source, giving the possibility to make it run on various hardware.
    Luck is you need to contract Huawei if you want to customize the OS.

    Yes
    Let's stay purely technical
    I have the feeling some people (not you) confuse open source business model and closed source.

    HarmonyOS next is written in chinese language code (canjii) and is not android compatible. They rely on their own kernel (who may be hybrid just like next step did when they changed to MacOsx) HarmonyOS is what FushiaOS is for Google. The difference is that google need as many people as possible in AOSP because it earns money not with aosp, but with their proprietary code (GMS)
    their business model is different from microsoft, samsung or huawei. (each one use aosp according to its own business model)
    HarmonyOS is a different matter. Openharmony is donated. So if you build a fridge in china, it may be coded on openharmony

    As for AOSP, don't forget the code is open source. Huawei is a membrer of the alliance and is a contributor to this code.
    Linux kernel majors codes contributors are huawei, intel, microsoft and of course google. You should differenciate a closed source code and an open source. AOSP is maintained (and not owned) by google so huawei, samsung or microsoft have every right to use a code they contributed to write.
    The read file system used in android (erofs) is from Huawei

    MacOSX is derived from freeBSB. Webkit (safari) is a fork of khtml (linux kde konqueror)
    Blink/chromium is forked from webkit. Chrome os is built on a linux distribution (gentoo)
    Open source mean you don't own the code (only a part of it depending on the licence). Google didn't create android. They certainly contributed to it more than others but others brought their code too and they maintain it. The kernel isn't coded by google but by the linux fondation
    Huawei is a major linux membrer. They are legitimate to use use AOSP and they still publish EMUI wich is based on it. it is not a gift from anybody, they contributed to it too. Microsoft use aosp and linux (linux subsystem) in windows and microsoft are major linux contributors too.
    AOSP (and open source) is not altruistic coders from all over the world (it used to be). It is a model where major firms benefits from others by reducing cost of development. Each company code for open source because it serves its own interests. All major compagnies code for linux. Microsoft servers are linux based, same for huawei.

    https://news.itsfoss.com/huawei-kernel-contribution/
    https://source.android.com/docs/core/architecture/kernel/erofs
    when we use our android smartphone, we also use important open source code from huawei. Erofs for instance.

    https://pocketnow.com/erofs-android-13-explained/
    Reply
  • PEnns
    So, Chinese software (and hardware) can't be trusted ?

    I guess the words "Backdoor", "NSA", "Spy Satellites" and "CIA", etc are totally foreign words to the Americans on this forum??

    Americans are spied upon by US tech companies AND their own successive governments as much as the Chinese or any other government on the planet!
    Reply