Huawei has taken another step forward with its HarmonyOS operating system. The company has announced that it will soon release its own HarmonyOS app ecosystem.
This news comes after HarmonyOS 4 has been installed on more than 60 million devices. According to the company, it was able to achieve this figure in just two months after the launch.
Huawei announced that HarmonyOS NEXT is ready for release. They plan to introduce a wide range of native HarmonyOS apps with this new software. During a recent product launch conference, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, noted that a new era of mobile applications is upon us.
He also emphasized that Huawei has trained millions of people who have experience with HarmonyOS. The company has developed a plan to invest significantly in supporting the developer community, creating a more favorable environment for developers and establishing new partnerships.
The company's goal is to present applications in more than 18 categories. In closing, Yu Chengdong also said that these native HarmonyOS apps will be more fluid, intelligent and secure for the next generation of HarmonyOS users.
At the 2023 developer conference, Huawei introduced “HarmonyOS NEXT”. This is a clean version of the operating system that does not contain Android libraries. Once it's ready, the existing version of HarmonyOS will be replaced with a clean HarmonyOS NEXT.
The reason why Huawei HarmonyOS has Android libraries
Since its launch in 2019, HarmonyOS has been using open source Android project libraries to help the app ecosystem. This allowed Android apps to function on HarmonyOS. The Chinese technology company made this choice because the native application collection for HarmonyOS was not very large at first.
After its introduction in 2020 for smartphones, Huawei has been actively promoting HarmonyOS in China. As a result, many Chinese developers got acquainted with this operating system.
Huawei has also made the HarmonyOS code open, which has expanded the possibilities of using the operating system not only for Huawei. This has allowed many other companies in the industry to join and support the growth of the HarmonyOS ecosystem.
Over the past four years, Huawei has built a robust HarmonyOS ecosystem with leading developers and an open source community. As a result, dropping Android support shouldn't be much of a problem for HarmonyOS NEXT, as it will provide full functionality with native HarmonyOS apps.
Release date of Huawei HarmonyOS NEXT
Huawei has confirmed that HarmonyOS NEXT will enter official developer beta in early 2024, followed by closed and open beta testing before a full public release. However, Huawei has not yet announced any specific plans for the update.
