Recently, Huawei released the latest iteration of its self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS 5.0 Galaxy Edition, which is officially open to developers to apply, attracting widespread attention. On the road of self-developed systems, Huawei has ushered in a new starting point. As an outlier in the Android ecosystem, how far can Huawei's self-developed system go, and where should users go?
1. The HarmonyOS version is iterating, and Huawei's self-developed system is gradually taking shape
Huawei's self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS, has been established since 2012. After 9 years of research and development, the HarmonyOS has gradually taken shape. In 2019, HarmonyOS 1.0 came out and was officially named "HarmonyOS". In June 2021, HarmonyOS 2.0 was released, which was first applied to some of Huawei's products. In June 2022, HarmonyOS 3.0 was released, and the application scenarios expanded from IoT devices such as smart screens and smart wearables to smart homes and car machines.
In the iteration process of multiple versions, the HarmonyOS has gradually expanded from a single IoT device to more complex scenarios such as mobile phones and tablets. In December 2022, Huawei released HarmonyOS 4.0, expanding application scenarios to a wider range of smart devices. In this process, HarmonyOS is also gradually polishing the collaborative performance of cross-devices.
Now, the latest HarmonyOS 5.0 further upgrades the system kernel, realizes code refactoring and component optimization. According to Huawei's introduction, HarmonyOS 5.0 has a significant leap in performance, security, and intelligence. This marks a new starting point for Huawei's self-developed system, which is accelerating the transformation from "quantity" to "quality".
2. Hongmeng 5.0 polishes the "six ultimate native" labels
Compared with the previous version, which paid more attention to IoT devices, HarmonyOS 5.0 will focus more on improving the performance of mobile phones, tablets and other scenarios. This is reflected in Huawei's "native" label for HarmonyOS 5.0.
Huawei claims that HarmonyOS 5.0 achieves six ultimate native experiences: native refinement, native ease of use, native smoothness, native security, native intelligence, and native interconnection. This means that HarmonyOS 5.0 will achieve more in-depth optimization and integration with hardware in many aspects such as interface fluency, security, and intelligent interaction.
It is foreseeable that as HarmonyOS is gradually applied in more mobile phones, it will also be different from the Android system we are familiar with in terms of user experience. This difference comes from HarmonyOS's emphasis on "native" optimization, and also reflects Huawei's ideas and explorations in system research and development.
As long-term users of Android, it may take us some time to get used to the new experience brought by HarmonyOS. However, entering the new system also means that we will enjoy the advantages of Huawei's self-developed system in terms of fluency and other aspects. This is also a very crucial step for Huawei to break the siege in the field of smartphone operating systems.
3. The self-developed system is a key move for Huawei to break through
In fact, Huawei's self-developed operating system is the key to breaking through the predicament. For a long time, Huawei has been highly dependent on Google's Android system. However, after being blocked by the United States in the past few years, Huawei suddenly fell into an operating system supply crisis. The self-developed HarmonyOS has become an important strategy for Huawei to break through at the software level.
The HarmonyOS system is autonomous and controllable, which can reduce Huawei's dependence on the external environment and reduce the risk of being "stuck". At the same time, polishing the system of its own brand will also help Huawei strive for a greater voice in the competition of global mobile operating systems. For Huawei's long-term passive attack, the self-developed system undoubtedly provides a weapon to fight back.
Of course, the mainstream mobile operating systems, represented by Android and iOS, have formed a relatively complete software and service ecosystem. This is one of the biggest problems faced by Huawei's self-developed systems. From the rapid iteration of HarmonyOS 1.0 to 5.0, it can be seen that Huawei is also making continuous efforts in ecological construction.
Overall, Huawei's self-developed system is a key move for Huawei to improve its long-term strategy to improve its autonomy and controllability. This is not only about Huawei's development, but also about China's ability to compete with foreign giants in the field of operating systems. Therefore, we have reason to believe that Huawei will continue to invest a lot of resources to support the growth of the HarmonyOS system.
Fourth, ecological shortcomings are still the biggest challenge
Although Huawei's HarmonyOS system is ready to go in the version iteration, the ecosystem is still the biggest shortcoming as an alternative to Android. According to reports, the number of applications in the HarmonyOS system is less than 100,000, and there is a significant gap with the number of millions of applications in Android.
The application ecosystem is directly related to the user's choice. If important tool applications and social software cannot be used on the HarmonyOS system, it will seriously restrict the user's willingness to accept. How Huawei can quickly incubate the HarmonyOS application ecosystem in a relatively short period of time will be the key to the success or failure of the self-developed system.
In addition, the HarmonyOS system also faces challenges in the user's situation and habits. Most smartphone users have been using iOS or Android for years and are highly dependent on these two mainstream systems. It takes a process of adaptation to get users to accept the new system interface and interaction patterns.
If there is an obvious problem of user feedback after the launch of the HarmonyOS system, this will also seriously affect the choice of other potential users. Therefore, Huawei also needs to make great efforts in the human-computer interaction design of its self-developed system to reduce user migration costs.
In general, ecological shortcomings and user habits will affect the promotion of the HarmonyOS system to a certain extent. How Huawei continues to work on ecosystem construction and user experience will determine whether its self-developed system can become a real competitor to Android.
Fifth, the first batch of upgraded models attracted attention
On the occasion of the imminent launch of HarmonyOS 5.0, the news of its first batch of upgradeable models has also attracted attention. It is reported that the first batch of upgraded models of Hongmeng 5.0 mainly include Huawei Kirin 9000 series and some Kirin 8000 series chip models.
This means that Huawei's newly released flagship phones such as the Mate50 series and P50 series will usher in HarmonyOS 5.0. The Mate40, P40 and nova series released in the past 2-3 years are not included in the first batch of upgrades.
This has aroused the attention of many Huawei mobile phone users. In particular, users who have Mate30 and P40 series mobile phones are looking forward to upgrading their phones to HarmonyOS 5.0 as soon as possible. After all, it has been almost 30 years from Mate 4 to now.
As the first batch of Kirin chip platforms with more than 10,000 AI computing capabilities, the Mate30 series has a full hardware foundation to support HarmonyOS 5.0. Its user base is extensive and active, and if it can become the first batch of upgraded models, it will undoubtedly increase the user base of HarmonyOS and make old users more confident in Huawei's support.
Of course, given the reality of limited chip supply, Huawei also needs to balance between different models. It also makes sense to let the latest models enjoy the new system first. However, for loyal users of the Mate and P series, they are still full of expectations, hoping that Huawei will upgrade more models as soon as possible and share the new experience brought by HarmonyOS.
Sixth, the autonomous system still needs to be cultivated, and users should choose carefully
Judging from the technical preview of HarmonyOS 5.0, the ambition of Huawei's self-developed system is obvious. It has done a lot of localized innovative design on the underlying framework, and has the opportunity to break through the blockade in the field of operating systems.
However, in order for HarmonyOS to truly become a model of domestic operating systems, it still needs long-term accumulation to become popular. Huawei needs to continue to invest in ecosystem construction, performance optimization, and user experience to develop a product form suitable for local users.
As users, we can fully expect the progress and competition brought by the domestic system. This helps to break the long-term monopoly of foreign manufacturers, and also allows us to see more possibilities for operating system innovation. However, when choosing a new mobile phone, we also need to carefully consider the ease of use and ecological completeness of the system.
Judging from the successful experience of the Android system, ecology and user habits are the key to determining the success or failure of an operating system. Huawei also needs to continue to work on these aspects in order to make HarmonyOS truly a global mobile operating system choice. Let's wait and see how we continue to witness more surprises from HarmonyOS.