BBC Chinese reported that Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei just announced its HarmonyOS 5.0 mobile operating system which, according to Huawei, is completely and independently developed domestically. Huawei claimed this is the third largest mobile operating system in the world, after iOS by Apple and Android by Google.
In the context of U.S. technology sanctions, the announced of HarmonyOS 5.0 attracted attention from experts who wonder whether Huawei can truly remove its past reliance on Android and even challenge the huge market share of Apple’s iOS ecosystem. Analysts expressed the belief that it is still very difficult for the HarmonyOS system to gain favor in markets outside China, and its expected popularity in China will not be seen as a surprise, as any new products by Huawei are backed by the Chinese government’s support for the electronics and semiconductor industry to be “independent.”
Previous HarmonyOS versions had compatibility with Android apps. Starting 5.0, Harmony apps must be rewritten in Huawei’s own programming language ArkTS. The extent to which app authors will support the new system remains to be seen, as the entire HarmonyOS Chinese market share is only 17 percent. At the moment, the new operating system has only completed testing and is not yet officially available in the global retail market.
Source: BBC Chinese, October 24, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/business-69438203