Huawei prepares to split from Android on consumer devices with HarmonyOS Next
- Reference: 1705904890
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/22/huawei_harmony_os_next/
- Source link:
HarmonyOS was launched in 2019 – initially as an OS for IoT devices, but later adapted to run on smartphones and other hardware. Huawei suggested the OS could run on its wearables, tablet computers, smartphones, and smart TVs, and offer a unified experience across all.
That's a lot like the sort of thing Google can deliver with Android, with which HarmonyOS was compatible.
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But between the geopolitical difficulties of cross-border tech transfers, and a desire to build the best possible offering, through 2023 Huawei indicated that it would build a version of HarmonyOS that broke with the Android ecosystem – even if that meant pain for developers and users.
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Last week, Huawei launched that Android-free offering: HarmonyOS Next. And it claimed it's also created the kernel to power it – meaning Huawei has divorced itself from both Android and Linux. Execs claimed the kernel outperforms Linux on some metrics, including memory efficiency.
Consumers were teased with a [4]trailer video that showed off what looks like a UI that has borrowed a lot from iOS and mainstream Android cuts from the likes of Samsung and Oppo.
[5]Teardown finds Huawei's 5nm notebook processor was made in Taiwan, not China
[6]Huawei finally gives up on US schmoozing efforts
[7]BT misses deadline for removing Huawei from network core
[8]Huawei bets its 2024 on datacenter infrastructure
Huawei has promised HarmonyOS Next will debut for consumers in Q4 of 2024, and that by then it will have trained millions of developers and secured thousands of native apps to run on the OS. A version for developers has been promised for imminent release.
In sessions for developers, Huawei detailed the innards of the OS and how it will ship with all the basic apps and services consumers will expect – stuff like maps, photo management, and a calculator – and the developer tools it's created.
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Huawei has also developed an "open" version of HarmonyOS Next – presumably in the hope that third parties might consider the OS to power their own devices.
The developer push and possible OEM adoption of HarmonyOS Next are as significant as the software itself. If Huawei can develop an ecosystem of third-party players, it could create a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly.
Huawei's revived smartphone range has been hailed as a patriotic alternative for Chinese buyers. Yet even a couple of hundred million Huawei devices running HarmonyOS Next would not be a significant challenge to Apple and Google outside China.
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Nor would other Chinese handset-makers adopting the OS necessarily make a difference. Recall that Microsoft signed up the likes of HTC, LG, and Samsung to build Windows Phone handsets, but couldn't crack the market. Only Samsung remains a force in the handset market – and it's all-in on Android.
Huawei has one huge advantage: China's government is on its side and has already let it be known that it would rather government workers don't use iOS for official business. Were China's governments to signal a preference for HarmonyOS, the platform could become a de facto standard behind the Great Firewall. ®
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[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gODE8N4FhPY
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/huawei_5nm_chip_tsmc/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/huawei_ditches_us_lobbying_team/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/02/bt_missed_deadline_for_removing/
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[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: ''split'
Given they were using Android in the past, I'm not sure how stopping using it amounts to "stealing" from what is ostensibly an Open Source project.
In reality, of course, it's not that popular without Google's proprietary additions and I'm sure Google will be hot on their heels if they nick any of that.
I'd have been more impressed if they'd given up on native development altogether and come up with a platform on which web applications could do all that was needed. But the one idea everyone seems to want to steal is the walled garden and its entrance fee.
Re: ''split'
"That's how they got their moon lander."
By stealing from mainline Android? Those crafty buggers.
Re: ''split'
Definitely stealing the UI from iOS/iPadOS. Have to wonder what China would be capable of if they put as much effort into inventing their own technology as stealing and reverse engineering everyone else's..
It’s Linux
No company in the world has the resources to create a credible Linux competitor from scratch.
Re: It’s Linux
Implement URSP for instance.
Re: It’s Linux
But they could take Linux and do a s:linux:harmonyos:g on it. Not saying they necessarily would or did, but that's basically what they did when they announced the first Harmony OS to run on phones with Android. Sure, they called it version 2 instead of 10 and they had a different format for app packages, but it was Android in every detail. I'll believe they've made a completely new kernel when I see the images and the technical reviews of its contents, not before. I've seen too many people boast that they've invented a completely new OS, UI, browser, whatever which actually turns out to be someone else's whatever with a really minor change on it which breaks maintainability but doesn't do much else.
Outside of China, is there a market for another smartphone ecosystem?
Samsung couldn't crack the Linux smartphone space with Tizen (or Bada before that).
I can't see anybody in the West being inspired to move off Android or iOS to an unknown OS which will probably have limited app support Huawei's current version of Android isn't spectacular in terms of app availability. And no, before anybody says it, regular users aren't going to install thrid-party app stores or sideload apps to get the functionality they need.
Re: Outside of China, is there a market for another smartphone ecosystem?
Well if you choose to install apps more fool you. Put on only one: Firefox, set as the default browser.
Why on earth do you think websites try to seduce you with 'this site is best viewed with our app'? Apps are data sucking machines. At least with Firefox you can use an ad blocker and no script to have some control.
Re: Outside of China, is there a market for another smartphone ecosystem?
Because some of us like to use our phones as computers, not just web terminals. If that's not you, more power to you. Some of the things I like my phone to do require it to work offline on local files, and the app model manages that pretty well.
"the platform could become a de facto standard behind the Great Firewall"
Oh but it will. And Beijing will be "working" hand-in-hand with Huawei to ensure that the HarmonyOS is a good pupil, ready to upload all the data Beijing requires to its surveillance servers.
There is an open-source version ? I would scour that with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that nothing pointed to Beijing's servers before trying that out.
Re: "the platform could become a de facto standard behind the Great Firewall"
It's not as easy as that. There could be "call-home" like telemetry stuff. But the way they do, usually, is that they leave some vulnerabilities. Then exploit these vulnerabilities.
Since many stacks have vulnerabilities too (and more are discovered all the time), intention is easy to deny.
''split'
But they'll keep stealing from mainline Android as necessary. That's how they got their moon lander.