In an attempt to strengthen Huawei‘s HarmonyOS platform and make it more competitive with international offerings, the local government of Shenzhen has initiated a campaign to greatly expand the ecosystem of applications for the platform, according to ChinaScope, which cites the official Xinhua news agency. The Xinhua article might suggest that China has bigger plans for HarmonyOS. But according to the Nikkei, Huawei might have different plans for HarmonyOS Next.
With the help of HarmonyOS, which is mostly based on Google’s open-source Android operating system, Huawei was able to evade the severe penalties imposed by the United States in 2019 and continue manufacturing its well-liked high-end devices. Eventually, it was integrated into a wide variety of Huawei products, such as TVs, tablets, PCs, and smartwatches.
As of right now, HarmonyOS appears to be a strong competitor in the smartphone industry, albeit it is not as strong in Europe or the US without apps like Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. However, HarmonyOS may still be the most practical alternative to Windows, iOS, macOS, Android, and iOS-based devices for Chinese authorities and Huawei.
The HarmonyOS Shenzhen Action Plan
This may be the reason the “Shenzhen Action Plan for Supporting the Development of Native HarmonyOS Open Source Applications in 2024” was recently launched by the Shenzhen government. The strategy lays forth a number of objectives to accelerate HarmonyOS software development in the province and city.
A primary objective of Shenzhen’s native HarmonyOS apps is to surpass 10% of China’s total by 2024. The concept calls for the creation of two or more specialized industrial parks to support the development of HarmonyOS software for a range of uses. Additionally, it establishes a goal for more than 1,000 Shenzhen-based software enterprises to hire staff qualified for HarmonyOS development.
Huawei’s HarmonyOS Plan
Similar to the open-source Android, HarmonyOS is available for adoption by anybody and can be used for almost anything. The Nikkei report claims that this will undoubtedly make it a rival to Apple’s proprietary iOS and the closed-source Android.
In fact, Huawei is collaborating with app developers and teaching programmers to design apps specifically for HarmonyOS with the goal of generating three million jobs in the process. But for the time being, rather than client PCs, the main focus of this study is on smartphones and IoT.
In China, Huawei’s smartphones—particularly the Mate 60 series—have been selling well, which has paved the way for HarmonyOS. With HarmonyOS currently running on 16% of smartphones sold in China, the business has a sizable portion of the market. This is significant since it encourages developers to create apps for the OS.
With over 5,000 apps, Huawei hopes to compete with Apple (iOS) and Samsung (customized Android) by covering the majority of Chinese smartphone users’ daily activities on HarmonyOS.
Currently, Huawei has enlisted the help of well-known companies like Alipay and Bilibili to create apps for the new platform. However, due to concerns about things like having to split revenue with app shops, some large apps and smaller creators are still undecided. On the other hand, one step sets off a thousand kilometers of travel. This step has undoubtedly been made.
