Daily US Times: An update of HarmonyOS, the operating system developed by Chinese telecom giant Huawei, means it will now be installed in a wider range of products, including its smartphones.
The new operating system is due to roll out across Asia following a launch event on 2 June, but there is no date for a global launch yet.
A trade ban imposed by the United States last year effectively prevented Huawei devices from working fully with Google’s Android platform because it blocked access to essential apps like Gmail, YouTube.
However, Huawei said it did not consider HarmonyOS to be a replacement for Android, which accounted for 85.4% of smartphones shipped in 2019, and according to the research firm IDC, Apple’s iOS had the remaining 14.6%.
Other operating systems such as Amazon’s Fire and Samsung’s Tizen have failed to disrupt the handset market.
Huawei’s HarmonyOS has so far only been available in some smart TVs.
The trade ban imposed by former US President Donald Trump didn’t stop Huawei smartphones from using Android altogether but limited their functionality.
The Chinese company was telling that there was expected to be a host of new products but no new Huawei smartphones unveiled at Tuesday’s launch, with the focus instead on Harmony’s use in other internet connected devices such as smart speakers, tablets and televisions.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said: “HarmonyOS is designed to provide the glue between a growing array of connected devices that Huawei is targeting.”
“Huawei will be hoping that it can follow Apple’s lead, by having a single software platform that extends in all directions, providing a seamless experience to customers that buy into its ecosystem of products.”
China’s official Xinhua News Agency reports that Huawei is anticipating 300 million devices to be equipped with HarmonyOS by the end of the year.
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