Huawei will begin rolling out HarmonyOS on certain Huawei smartphones, giving customers the option to upgrade from the current operating system, which is based on Google's Android platform.
The corporation will no longer be entirely reliant on Android thanks to the deployment of HarmonyOS. Sanctions imposed by the United States prevented Alphabet's Google from providing technical assistance for new Huawei phone models, as well as access to Google Mobile Services, a collection of developer services that underpins most Android apps.
Rather than being a direct replacement, Huawei touts HarmonyOS as a "Internet-of-Things" platform capable of running on and linking various devices such as laptops, wearables, automobiles, and household appliances.
According to Wang Chenglu, head of Huawei Consumer Business Group's software department, who has headed Huawei's efforts to build HarmonyOS since 2016, the company hopes to have it on 200 million smartphones and 100 million third-party smart devices by the end of the year.
Due to national security concerns, China's biggest telecoms equipment manufacturer was placed on a US trade blacklist in May 2019. Huawei has denied that it poses a threat on numerous occasions.
Huawei's handset business was severely harmed as a result of the ban. Huawei, once the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, is now placed sixth in the globe, with a 4% market share in the first quarter.
