By Li Xiaoyang

With the ambition of delivering enhanced cross-device experiences to consumers， Chinese tech company Huawei launched the second version of its open-source operating system， HarmonyOS 2， on June 2.

The system is able to connect a variety of devices to smartphones， including wearables， tablets and even vehicles. However， Richard Yu， CEO of Huaweis Consumer Business Group， said HarmonyOS， or Hongmeng in Chinese， is not a substitute for Googles Android or Apples exclusive iOS as many had predicated， but has instead been developed to power the Internet of Things （IoT） ecosystem.

The first version of HarmonyOS was introduced in August 2019. Prior to the rollout of HarmonyOS 2， it had already been used in Huaweis smart TVs and in home appliances produced by other brands， such as microwave ovens.

Huawei undertook the launch of the new system amid mounting external pressure. Citing so-called national security concerns， the U.S. has continued banning a list of Chinese enterprises from accessing key U.S. technologies and products， including Huawei. Notably， Google introduced its new operating system， Android 12， in May and this time Huaweis products are not on the list of smartphones compatible with the update.

HarmonyOS 2 will generate a giant leap for Huawei once it gains a solid market share. According to a research report released by Founder Securities， a financial services company based in Changsha， Hunan Province， the development and application of HarmonyOS can help Huawei become a core technology developer and upgrade its businesses to cope with the chip shortage caused by the U.S. ban.

“HarmonyOS is compatible with Android devices and， according to test results， can operate at higher speeds. As Huawei expands the application of HarmonyOS， it is likely to surpass Android in terms of functionality and reliability，” Zhao Xiaogang， an associate professor at Wuhan Universitys School of Computer Science， told IT news website IThome.

A big move

Android and iOS reportedly occupy around 68 percent and 30 percent of the global market for operating systems， respectively. According to Yang Haisong， Vice President of Huawei Consumer Business AI and Smart Full Scenario Business Department， the success of an operating system lies in its market share. A 16-percent share of the Chinese market is the threshold for HarmonyOS 2 to survive and thrive. To achieve this， it will need to run on at least 300 million devices by the end of this year. Huawei aims to equip around 200 million of its own products and 100 million devices from other companies with the system， using a “Huawei Inside” model.