Huawei brings new operating system to rival Android

Huawei has launched its own operating system — the Hongmengos, known in English as the Harmonyos. Speaking at the Huawei Developer Conference in the Chinese city of Dongguan, Richard Yu, CEO of the Chinese tech giant’s consumer division, said the operating system can be used across different devices from smartphones to smart speakers and even sensors. It’s

a part of Huawei’s play in the so-called Internet of Things, which refers to devices connected to the internet. Harmonyos will first be used on “smart screen products,” such as televisions, later this year. Over the next three years, the operating system will be used in other devices, including wearables and car head units. Huawei said the OS will initially launch in China with plans to expand it globally.

The United States placed Huawei on a blacklist — or the so-called Entity List — in May, which essentially restricts some US companies from selling their products to the Chinese tech giant. Following that move, Google said it suspended business activity with Huawei. But days later, the US government eased some of those restrictions, and allowed Google to work with Huawei for 90 days. That timeline is almost up. The Chinese telecom equipment maker has previously acknowledged publicly that it had its own operating system in the works.

Harmonyos is open-source, which means that other device-makers could theoretically use its operating system. Making it opensource could help the OS increase its scale and attract more developers to make apps for it. Having a large number of useful apps is important for any OS to be successful. ■