Huawei promises HarmonyOS on smartphones as early as 2020

During a press conference, Huawei Chairman Wang Chenglu confirmed that the manufacturer will start betting on HarmonyOS for some of its smartphones as early as next year. However, it did not confirm which lines would receive the new operating system.

Still, it revealed some important information about the arrival of HarmonyOS on smartphones. Firstly, it will not replace Android, and Google’s system will remain the main OS to use. In addition, it will also be launched in international markets.

Can HarmonyOS compete with Android? Or will it have the same fate as Samsung’s Tizen?

This is not the first time we have seen one of the major manufacturers trying to deploy a new operating system for its smartphones as an alternative to the Android offered by Google. Although in totally different circumstances, Samsung tried to create something similar with Tizen OS.

However, although it was restricted to just a few smartphones, it quickly became clear that betting on this OS would be a big mistake. So it was not long before the brand stopped betting on its OS on smartphones.

Huawei’s situation is very different, especially considering that it remains prohibited from using Google services and applications on its new smartphones.

According to Wang Chenglu, the entire HarmonyOS platform will be fully open source from August next year. This will make it much easier to develop Apps and games for the new operating system. This may be the only way the brand can guarantee its success.

Still, it will be very complicated to rival Android, and it is virtually impossible to create services as competent as Google’s offerings. Especially apps like Google Maps and Google Assistant.

HarmonyOS should not debut on high-end smartphones

It has not been confirmed by the President which first smartphones to receive HarmonyOS in 2020. However, it seems unlikely that the manufacturer will initially decide to roll out the OS in its flagship smartphones.

Most likely they will start with their lower range offerings, to perform all the necessary tests and studies. And then ponder the breakthrough for major smartphones.