Huawei unveiled the Harmony OS with much fanfare at the Huawei Developer Conference (2019) earlier today. The OS is primarily targeted at IoT products and is the company’s back up plan if it no longer can use Android on its smartphones. Huawei was careful NOT to directly market it as a replacement to Android but it did stress that it would use Harmony OS as its last resort for its smartphones.

Building a new OS from scratch is never easy and time and again we’ve seen examples of companies failing to gain traction from developers for a brand new OS. However, Huawei wants to take things slow and steady, starting with IoT products like the new Huawei Smart Screen that’s going to be unveiled tomorrow.

There’s a lot of stuff that was revealed about the OS at the event today, so we decided to compile 10 things you should know about Harmony OS so that you are updated about its most important features.

1. Harmony OS development began back in 2017

Huawei started working on the HarmonyOS as early as 2017. The company decided to speed things up in 2019 to power its smart screen products this year. The v1.0 will initially target smart display products, such as the Huawei Smart Screen to be unveiled tomorrow. In 2020, microkernel v2.0 will be released and subsequently, in 2021, the v3.0 will be available with added support for wearables.

The HarmonyOS v1.0 will still feature a Linux kernel alongside its own microkernel, but future versions, starting v2.0 will be completely based on its microkernel.

2. Huawei’s HarmonyOS is based on a light Microkernel unlike Android

Huawei’s HarmonyOS is microkernel-based, much like Google’s Fuchsia OS. This makes it more of a direct competitor to Fuchsia than Android. This design ensures that the new OS can be used on multiple types of devices at once. So, it’s meant to be a multi-device solution rather than a smartphone focused OS.

Unlike Linux kernels which have a relatively large amount of code in a shared address space, microkernels have a smaller amount of shared code and enable faster communication between its components.

3. HarmonyOS will not allow root access

Huawei confirms you won’t get root access on the Harmony OS. This has been done to avoid any future security concerns, which the company says is a security risk on Android and other Linux-based OSes.

4. HarmonyOS is primarily for IoT products

Huawei is targeting IoT products such as wearables, smart screen products, smart speakers, in-car entertainment units and other smart products for its new HarmonyOS. Smartphones are not really the priority but the company stresses that it is capable of replacing Android on its mobile devices.

5. Huawei smartphones can shift to HarmonyOS in just a couple of days

Huawei revealed that if the need arises, it can quickly shift to HarmonyOS on its smartphones. It will just take 1-2 days for the company to replace Android on its phones. That’s impressive yet scary at the same time!

6. Android Apps are not compatible out of the box

Huawei’s HarmonyOS won’t support Android apps out of the box. The company notes that ‘small changes’ need to be made to existing apps to ensure that it can run on its new OS. But it is possible to port Android, HTML5, and Linux apps over to HarmonyOS using Huawei’s ARK compiler, which is open source.

7. Huawei is building its own app store

Huawei is already busy building a replacement for the Google Play store. The company’s inhouse app store is called as Huawei AppGallery and it is already asking developers to publish their Android apps over on its own apps store as well. The company has even unveiled Huawei Mobile Services as an alternative to Google Play services.

8. Huawei’s Mate 30 series could use HarmonyOS

While Huawei stressed that HarmonyOS isn’t really targeted for smartphones, it could be forced to install the new OS on the upcoming Mate 30 series. The company has confirmed that the Mate 30 series models haven’t received Google Play certification yet. If the Huawei ban continues, the Chinese telecommunications giant could be forced to use HarmonyOS on the new models. There are already rumors that the Mate 30 Lite will be the first HarmonyOS running smartphone. Let’s wait and watch.

9. HarmonyOS will go Open Source sometime next year

Huawei is planning to make HarmonyOS completely open-source sometime next year. This could bring in companies like OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi to collaborate and develop the new operating system. US ban is currently a primary threat to Huawei, but it can extend to other Chinese companies as well. I’m sure they would want an alternative like HarmonyOS in case things go south.

10. HarmonyOS will build its roots in China first

Huawei will lay the foundations of the HarmonyOS in the Chinese market, later expanding it to international markets. So, the first set of HarmonyOS products will be unveiled in China, starting with the Honor Vision Smart screen.

So, that’s everything you should know about the new HarmonyOS.

Let’s know if you think it can eventually replace or at least compete directly with Android for smartphones.

The post 10 Things You Should Know About Huawei’s HarmonyOS appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei has been under the spotlight for the past couple of months, especially since the US government banned the company from conducting business with its companies. After the recent G20 summit, the ban was eased by the government, but Huawei still wasn’t removed completely from the Entity List. However, despite the ban, Huawei seems to have done pretty well in the first half of the year as the company’s chairman, Liang Hua revealed at a press conference today that Huawei increased its revenue in the first half of the year. He further confirmed the name of its upcoming operating system, Hongmeng OS at the press conference. 

Huawei posting increased revenues in H1 2019 isn’t entirely surprising given that the ban came into effect in May. So Huawei’s performance in the initial four months of the year could have been pretty strong to mitigate its effect. If you remember, Huawei had already managed to ship over 100 million smartphones before the ban came into effect. So, the real damage from the ban will probably be seen in the second half of the year. Note that initial estimates revealed that Huawei’s US trade ban was likely to wipe out $30 billion of the company’s revenue. 

Editor’s Pick: Huawei doesn’t want People to Buy its Products just because its Patriotic

At present, Washington’s stance is to allow US companies to sell their technology and products to Huawei as long as these products don’t pose a threat to national security. But Huawei’s chairman isn’t happy with the current situation. In the press conference today, Liang said that “adding Huawei to the Entity List was neither justified or fair,” and that Huawei “should be removed from the list entirely”.

He further said that the company’s Hongmeng OS was developed for IoT products and that Google’s Android was the preferred OS for smartphones. “We haven’t decided whether to develop HongMeng into a smartphone OS yet” he added. But this could change if Huawei is barred from using Android on its phones.  

UP NEXT: Honor TV incoming on July 15?

(Source)

The post Huawei confirms Hongmeng OS moniker, Increased its Revenue in H1 2019 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei has scheduled its largest ever Global developers conference in China on August 9 and it looks like the company will use the platform to announce its new HongMeng operating system. The news comes from China’s ifeng.com who seem to be sure that the new OS will meet us at the event. 

This news doesn’t come as a complete surprise as the company’s head of consumer business, Richard Yu, had mentioned back in May to the CNBC that it’s new OS could be ready by fall in China this year. The Huawei Global Developer Conference is an important event for the Chinese smartphone giant, especially this year, with over 1,500 partners and 5,000 global developers are expected to attend the event. While this event is held every year, this time, it’s special because of its sheer size as well as the increased attention from global media on Huawei. Any OS needs a solid ecosystem of apps in order to be successful and what better platform than the Global Developers Conference to talk about its new HongMeng OS. Considering these circumstances, it’s very likely that Huawei will talk about its new OS at the event this year. 

Huawei’s new OS is not just built to run on smartphones. According to Richard Yu, the OS is “open to mobile phones, computers, tablets, TVs, cars, and smart wearable devices,” and will be compatible with all Android apps and web applications. Further, he added that “if the Android app is recompiled, running performance is improved by more than 60%.”

Editor’s Pick: Samsung expects sharp profit falloff, Huawei situation partially to blame?

These comments give us a fair idea as to what to expect from its HongMeng OS. It’s likely going to be a forked version of Android with support for all Android apps and services. Further, unlike the Android that we see today, which usually limited to smartphones and tablets, HongMeng OS could power a wide variety of gadgets including smartwatches, TVs, and cars. It looks like the OS was built from the ground up for smart devices. 

We’ll likely hear more about the HongMeng OS in the coming days. The Huawei Global Developers Conference (HDC) will be held in Songshan Lake, Dongguan from August 9 to August 11. So, you better mark your calendars. 

UP NEXT: Huawei patents under-display selfie camera in Germany

(Source)

The post Huawei’s HongMeng OS could launch on August 9 at HDC appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei has been under the US government’s radar for quite some time now. It all started off with the US government foiling the company’s plans to enter the US with AT&T’s support early last year. Huawei’s relationship with the US government has since worsened and hit its lowest point last Wednesday after US President Trump signed an executive order adding Huawei to the Entity list, which is basically a list of companies that pose a national security risk. This order bans US companies from buying or selling to Huawei without approval from the government.

What’s Happening Right Now With Huawei?

Following the executive order from Trump, US companies have started to cut off the supply of its hardware and software services to Huawei.

It started off with Google announcing that it will no longer provide hardware and software products to the Chinese tech giant, except those covered by open source licenses.

For Huawei users' questions regarding our steps to comply w/ the recent US government actions: We assure you while we are complying with all US gov't requirements, services like Google Play & security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device.

— Android (@Android) May 20, 2019

Huawei’s official response to this matter was as follows:

“Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.

We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.

Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry.”

What Happens To Existing Huawei and Honor Users?

No need to panic yet. Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphones and tablets. This includes the units that are still in stock with retailers.

Google Play Store and Play Protect will continue to be available on existing Huawei devices. However, it remains to be seen whether a future update to Play services will cause Huawei phones to lose Play certification.

Also, the company hasn’t mentioned support for products that are yet to be shipped. This could be an indication that Huawei is yet to finalize how to proceed with this trade ban.

Who Else Is Following The Trade Ban?

Basically, all US companies have to comply with this executive order. In this regard, companies like Qualcomm, Micron, Qorvo, Skyworks, Intel, Xilinx, and even Broadcom have reportedly stopped supplying their products and services to Huawei.

A couple of weeks back, Huawei had officially revealed that it had 30 US companies as its core suppliers. Losing supply from all of them at once is definitely a big blow. It won’t be easy finding replacements for all of them.

What Can Huawei Do Right Now?

Huawei has been preparing for this eventuality for a while now. After seeing ZTE suffer from a trade ban last year, Huawei has been stockpiling components for up to a year’s supply. However, there are some key components that you can’t really stock up in advance.

As for things that it can’t really stock up, like Google’s Play services, the company has been reportedly working on alternate options. Huawei has long been reported to be working on an alternate OS to Android, specifically made for such an eventuality. The details are scarce at the moment, however, the company had mentioned a few months back that it would use it as the very last resort.

This might just be the time for this last resort, but personally, I think, Huawei would want to stick to Android for a foreseeable future.

• RELATED: Huawei and Samsung settle 8-year long lawsuits over standard-essential patents in China

Why It Makes Sense For Huawei To Stick With Android?

Android is currently the world’s largest smartphone operating system. The OS has a market share upwards of 70%. No other OS comes close to this figure, not even Apple’s iOS! It’s clear that consumers prefer Android over most other alternatives out there.

Also, history hasn’t been kind to new entrants in this industry. Windows Mobile, Firefox Os, Ubuntu have all tried to capture a share of the smartphone market but failed miserably. So, the question comes to whether Huawei can risk shifting all its phones to a brand new OS?

With hundreds of competent Android smartphone options in the market right now, shifting to a non-Huawei phone won’t be a big deal for a consumer. Most users like familiarity. So, even if Huawei is the second largest smartphone maker in the world, it would be hard for the company to urge customers to stick with them with a brand new operating system.

On the other hand, it can stick to Android AOSP by leveraging its experience in China, where Google services are non-existent. China has a lot of app stores for Android, including Huawei’s own. But most of the apps cater to the Chinese audience and are not known to the western world.

Huawei’s biggest challenge here is how to bring relevant apps to its western users. For this, it will have to tie up with an existing app store with a lot of apps that it can open up for its users. It’s not going to be easy, but Huawei does have experience working with non-Google app stores and could make it work.

What’s The Best Case Scenario For Huawei Now?

Personally, I think the best case scenario for Huawei right now is to get this trade ban reversed. ZTE, a company which was found guilty of violating Iran and North Korea sanctions, managed to survive a similar ordeal last year.

Huawei’s case is even better. The US Government doesn’t really have any credible evidence against the company right now. So, the two economic giants, US and China should be able to come out with a compromise in the near future.

Honestly, I think China has to play the long game right now. Coming to a compromise with the US is probably in its best interest, especially when it’s on the path to becoming a 5G and AI leader. Huawei is already the world’s largest telecommunication equipment provider and leads in 5G technology patents too. It’s all set to dethrone Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone maker by 2020.

If Huawei and China can work a deal with Trump’s Government, this trade ban would have been all but a minor hurdle in its plans to become the global technology leader. However, if this goes on for a while, Huawei and China have got a lot to lose.

To conclude, all I would say is that trade war is usually a double-edged sword. Both the parties will lose out on something, so it all comes down to which party can afford to lose more. It’s never in the interest of the consumers, so in the long run, we are losing out on healthy partnerships, technology sharing, and innovation, which have been the elements that bolstered the smartphone industry to what it is today!

What’s your take?

The post Huawei vs. the US: What’s Happening Right Now? appeared first on Gizmochina.

The recent ban imposed by the U.S authorities on ZTE from using American products and services seems to have opened the eyes of Chinese OEMs to the grave dangers inherent in relying on U.S technology. The ban would not only see ZTE not using Qualcomm chips but may lose its license to use Google’s Android operating system for smartphones.

It was reported recently that Huawei is facing a similar probe relating to possible violation of Iran sanctions. The Chinese smartphone and telecommunications equipment manufacturer has denied any wrongdoing. However, according to several sources, Huawei has commenced developing and perfecting its own mobile OS should the U.S government eventually find the company culpable and wield the sledgehammer. One of the sources disclosed that the Chinese giant started to build its own operating system after the US government commenced an investigation against it and ZTE in 2012.

The mobile phone operating system is dominated by Android OS and Apple’s iOS, with both accounting for 99.9% of the global market, according to an estimate by research firm, Gartner. There have been several attempts to break this duopoly by various tech companies. Microsoft attempted to do this with the Windows Mobile OS but that didn’t fly. Samsung has the Tizen OS which it backs heavily but is actually owned by a consortium of tech companies apart from the Korean giant. In the days of yore, Nokia had the Symbian OS and later MeeGo but all those were later jettisoned.

Read Also: After ZTE’s Ban, U.S. Probing Huawei For Possible Iran Sanctions Violations

The Android ecosystem and iOS have to their advantage, a large number of supported apps, without support for cross-platform applications. In other words, Android apps can’t run on Tizen OS unless the user installs an emulator. This is something that has hindered the growth of Samsung-backed Tizen OS. With the millions of apps available to iOS and Android users, it will likely take years before a new OS would fly because Huawei would need to get developers to develop apps that would be compatible with its OS. Moreso, this would affect the patronage of Huawei’s products in the global market. Who wants a smartphone not running on Android OS except Apple fanboys? However, it is always good to break a monopoly. Who knows, we might just be staring at a revolution in the mobile OS market.

(source)

The post Huawei Reportedly Developing Its Own OS In Case Its Gets U.S Ban appeared first on Gizmochina.