Huawei's HarmonyOS Upgrade: 300 Million Devices Goal and Open‑Source Strategy

At a recent Mate X2 launch event, Huawei Consumer Business CEO Yu Chengdong revealed a major announcement: starting in April, Huawei's flagship phones will gradually upgrade to HarmonyOS, with the Mate X2 being among the first.

According to domestic media, Wang Chenglu, President of Huawei Consumer Business Software Division and head of HarmonyOS, told reporters that Huawei's target for devices running HarmonyOS this year is conservatively estimated at 300 million units, including 200 million phones and over 30 million tablets, watches, smart screens, speakers, and partner devices.

When some people claim HarmonyOS is merely a rebranded Android, Wang responded that such doubts reveal an inconsistent understanding of open‑source software in China's tech community. Not all Android code is developed by Google; the majority originates from the open‑source community.

HarmonyOS also incorporates excellent technologies and code from the community, using AOSP (Android Open Source Project) code. Labeling HarmonyOS as “Android with a new skin” shows a lack of accurate understanding of what open source truly means.

It is reported that as early as 2012, Wang, then at Huawei's Central Software Institute, had the idea of building an operating system, initially driven purely by technical considerations. After rapid growth of Huawei's consumer business post‑2014, the company decided it must develop its own software system.

In May 2016, HarmonyOS was officially launched as a project within the software division.

Wang repeatedly emphasized that the birth of HarmonyOS is not intended to replace Android but to surpass it, creating the next‑generation operating system for an era of interconnected everything.

Source: 快科技 https://news.mydrivers.com/1/742/742862.htm