Huawei breaks free from Google ecosystem with homegrown OS

HarmonyOS Next targets Internet of Things and car demand along with smartphones

Customers look at new Huawei Pura 70 series smartphones: Smartphone sales for Huawei Technologies have rebounded recently. © Reuters

ITSURO FUJINO, Nikkei staff writer

May 8, 2024 10:28 JST

GUANGZHOU -- Huawei Technologies looks to complete its departure from Google's Android operating system this year with the rollout of a new OS developed fully in-house, further sidestepping U.S. export controls that had cramped the Chinese company's mobile business.

The new HarmonyOS Next ships with Huawei's flagship Mate 70 smartphone due out later this year. It uses memory three times as efficiently as the current operating system, HarmonyOS, and supports on-device artificial intelligence.