Huawei took the industry by surprise last month when it announced its Android replacement dubbed Harmony OS (stylised as HarmonyOS). Although the company had hinted that it has no plans to launch smartphones running the new OS anytime soon, it did take some steps towards bringing it to smartphones in the near future. One of such steps is the launch of the Ark Compiler that would let Android app developers port their apps to Harmony OS.
There are indications that developers are not too happy with the new OS. Huawei’s so-called ARK Compiler is said to be far from ready. A number of developers in China who are already testing the software described the program as buggy and unfinished. According to Chinese blog Abacus, most of the devs report that it can’t even compile its own demo app properly at the moment. In a forum, one developer writes that “not only can’t the Ark Compiler compile all the standard benchmark samples, but it also can’t even compile its own demo sample!”
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Another developer opined that some vital components are apparently missing from the program. The dev noted that while it can compile the assembly language, the software can’t go further than that and can’t create an executable file. In all this, it is difficult to say where the problem emanates from as Huawei has failed to release the source code even though the ARK Compiler was promoted as open source. Some of the developers see the early unveiling of HarmonyOS as a publicity stunt perhaps aimed at jolting the US to the threat inherent in allowing Huawei to get its own viable OS. So, it is safe to say HarmonyOS may not be finding its way into smartphones anytime soon.
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