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

[Admin]

Local government of China's Shenzhen province launches a program to support development of software programs for HarmonyOS .

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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[bit_user]

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.

 

[passerby747]

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.

 

[bit_user]

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.

 

[gg83]

How could this possibly create 3 million jobs? Lmao! What a joke of another Huawei article

 

[williamcll]

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

 

[NinoPino]

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.

Their government is comprised of yes men that do not challenge the authority and...

As in every big company or government in the world.

... 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 ?

 

[tomscomments]

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.

Guess Who Contributed the Most to Linux Kernel 5.10 Development? It's Huawei (and Intel)

For a couple of years now, Intel has been leading the code contribution ranking for the development of Linux Kernel by the number changeset or number of lines changed. According to the latest statistics reported on LWN.net, Intel tops the chart as one of the most active employers for

news.itsfoss.com

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.

What is EROFS file system that Google will reportedly implement in Android 13?

Google will reportedly use a new type of file format, called the EROFS file system, in Android 13. Wondering what it is? Here's everything that you need to know.

pocketnow.com

 

[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!

 

[CNman]

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.

For haters, actually no one cares about you. I can imagine last year and the year before you were probably talking about Huawei is dying or Harmony OS is just a copy of android…etc. but Chinese are just moving forward, wether you like or not. People lost more trust on US for all kinds of reasons now.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

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.

"Some big apps and smaller developers" are already paying Apple and Google, so they're going to pay Huawei as well, especially if China adopts a walled garden policy so the official app store is the only way to install apps onto Huawei devices.

 

[Dave Haynie]

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.

Huawei made some nice phones. They still do, as does their spinoff Honor does... I re iewed the Honor Magic4 Pro a few years back... nice phone, though it didn't really function as a phone in the USA. It was a European model, which they do support. We lost 3G during the re iew and they didn't have VoLTE working, at least in that version.

But tge hardware doesn't matter much if you can't get the apps you need. HarmonyOS may keep up in China and all, but even an ASOP Android compatibility locks you out of major apps. Microsoft's phones failed because of apps. Amazon's phones failed because of apps. It's also why Tesla will never have their own X phone or whatever Musk was going on about.

It's not just the major apps. Do US financial institutions trust Huawei enough to invest writing an app? Do trade shows, zoos, museums, and music festivals write apps for a phone no one here owns and is made by just one Chinese company? Are there any of the popular games made for Huawei?

 

[ivan_vy]

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.

wait for new stupid sanctions for developers to not create apps for Harmony OS and then a new chinese ecosystem will grow out of that, we are seeing the homegrown hardware slowly pushing manufacturers out of China, the next step is software, then China tech industry will eat the african and latam market right in front of american tech industry.

 

[ezst036]

NO one outside of China is going to trust this OS.

They will. But no matter.

Let's say you're correct. China has 1.5 billion people. They don't need trust outside of China to hit 20-20 whatever percent global market share.

 

[ezst036]

The world badly needs an alternative to ios/android duopoly.

As of right now, there are only three alternatives.

There's UBports (which I installed and use on my phone) and there's PostMarketOS. And Purism has PureOS.

Everything else, - everything else is based on Android.(unless its Apple) /E/, Lineage, and many, many other flavor clones. They're Android. Even this HarmonyOS is Android.

Does the world need said alternative that badly that you've attempted to switch, or are you simply commenting without action?

 

[williamcll]

They will. But no matter.

Let's say you're correct. China has 1.5 billion people. They don't need trust outside of China to hit 20-20 whatever percent global market share.

You also forget the all the embedded smart devices it's going to be in that are rarely sanctioned.

 

[nookoool]

It seems like its okay these days to drop yellow peril dog whistles and casual sinophobia in every comment section of "China" related news but billions of people around the world are enjoying life using Chinese Phones , Telco gear, EV, TV, Applicances, Security Cams, other electronics, games, apps with "Chinese" operating systems and software. The World is not the "US/Nato".

For the short term, Huawei will likely be only selling luxury level phones hence Harmony OS will only be limited to China , Russia, and Hobbyist in Asia for the next few years. Once Huawei/China can get back into producing more chips for low/mid devices, I would not be surprise that many Global South countries will hedge with the Chinese Alternatives in their tech stack.

 

[ivan_vy]

It seems like its okay these days to drop yellow peril dog whistles and casual sinophobia in every comment section of "China" related news but billions of people around the world are enjoying life using Chinese Phones , Telco gear, EV, TV, Applicances, Security Cams, other electronics, games, apps with "Chinese" operating systems and software. The World is not the "US/Nato".

For the short term, Huawei will likely be only selling luxury level phones hence Harmony OS will only be limited to China , Russia, and Hobbyist in Asia for the next few years. Once Huawei/China can get back into producing more chips for low/mid devices, I would not be surprise that many Global South countries will hedge with the Chinese Alternatives in their tech stack.

you may also add that the midlevel market that BBK Electronics (Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus) and Xiaomi have claimed in India and LatAm.

Global smartphone shipments by vendor 2009-2024 | Statista

In the third quarter of 2024, Samsung was the leading smartphone vendor worldwide, shipping around 58 million units, while Apple's toll reached close to 56 million units.

www.statista.com

China cannot be the 'cheap imitation' and 'the yellow peril' at the same time, offshoring is taking the toll on american industry.

 

[williamcll]

offshoring is taking the toll on American industry.

Maybe if American manufacturers make cheap products while not eating up most of their profits on paying the management this wouldn't be a problem.

 

[WrongRookie]

Woah why are some of the comments salty here?

Its just an OS. And frankly its about time that mobile platforms atleast have another OS.

 

[haitchsingh]

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.

So looking at Geopolitics, you can see that the nation is buying up land, lending money, when a nation defaults CN own that territory, they can then have any influenence they like in that region if it means flooding a market on the cheap to take over the current leaders in OS's, I don't think they will hesitate.

 

[USAFRet]

This has gone too far down the off topic political road.

Thanks, all.