The best choice for terminal AI localization! "Pure Blood Hongmeng" shares the w

When a Chinese company simultaneously controls the operating system, native app ecosystem, and AI large models, a Chinese version of "Apple + OpenAI" may be on the horizon...

01

Full-stack self-development, the birth of "Pure Harmony"

"'Pure Harmony' is fully self-developed from the inside out, breaking the bipolar pattern of mobile operating systems," said Yu Chengdong, Huawei's Executive Director and Chairman of the Terminal BG: "HarmonyOS is a full-scene intelligent operating system based on OpenHarmony, which is a Chinese-origin, self-controlled operating system."

On January 18, 2024, at the HarmonyOS Eco-Sailing Ceremony, Yu Chengdong announced that HarmonyOS NEXT, the Harmony Galaxy Edition developer preview, is open for application by developers, and "Pure Harmony" was officially released. Huawei stated that it would release the developer Beta (test) version in the second quarter of 2024, and the commercial version in the fourth quarter of 2024, officially targeting ordinary consumers.

It is reported that the HarmonyOS NEXT system base is fully self-developed, removing traditional AOSP code, and only supporting Harmony kernel and Harmony system applications, reducing 40% of redundant code, which greatly improves the system's smoothness, energy efficiency, and pure security features.

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On September 25, at Huawei's full-scene new product launch, Yu Chengdong officially announced the comprehensive launch of Harmony native applications, which will bring a historic leap in the mobile application ecosystem. Huawei has trained millions of Harmony talents and will invest billions of funds to support partner development, covering 18 fields of applications.

Pure Harmony aims to achieve a unified system and ecosystem, enhancing user experience by connecting multiple devices and scenarios. This includes an intelligent operating system for the interconnection of all things, such as tablets, smartphones, cockpits, and IoT devices. Pure Harmony has not only made technological breakthroughs but also demonstrated Huawei's firm belief and determination in domestic operating systems in the market. This version marks Huawei's complete "severance" from Android, fully transitioning to running Harmony native applications.Homegrown HarmonyOS Applications Fully Launched

Alipay and Other Leading Apps Actively Support

Pure HarmonyOS has achieved full-stack self-development from the inside out, making it a Chinese-origin, independently controllable operating system. This means it no longer relies on any external technology or code, especially it is no longer compatible with Android applications, nor does it support opening APK files.

In terms of native applications, pure HarmonyOS has made significant progress. As of now, more than 4,000 applications have joined the HarmonyOS native ecosystem. These applications span various fields such as social networking, audio and video, gaming, finance, and food, including well-known platforms like Gaode Map, QQ Music, iQIYI, Ximalaya, and TikTok. On December 7th last year, Alipay and Huawei Terminal announced a partnership to develop Alipay HarmonyOS native applications based on HarmonyOS NEXT, becoming another leading platform partner to initiate the development of HarmonyOS native applications, further perfecting the HarmonyOS ecosystem layout.

HarmonyOS provides developers with a complete development toolkit, enhancing development efficiency with one-time development and multi-end deployment. HarmonyOS offers a comprehensive development toolkit ranging from design resources, programming languages, compilers to development and debugging tools. At the same time, the HarmonyOS system possesses core capabilities such as a multi-end development environment, multi-end development capabilities, and a multi-end distribution mechanism, enabling developers to achieve "one-time development, multi-end deployment." This means one project can be developed and launched once, and then deployed across multiple ends as needed, supporting developers to efficiently develop applications for a variety of terminal devices.

According to public reports, mobile internet leading application manufacturers such as Meituan, Qunar, Sina, DingTalk, Ant Group, Xiaohongshu, 58 Group, Bilibili, and Gaode Map have already started developing HarmonyOS native applications. As for Tencent WeChat, HarmonyOS NEXT test users have reported receiving a follow-up call from Huawei Terminal on July 22nd.

Regarding the question of when WeChat will adapt to HarmonyOS NEXT native applications, WeChat customer service previously stated that WeChat is working with Huawei on the development and technical communication for the native HarmonyOS operating system. Due to differences in scale and functionality, the adaptation cycle and progress of different products vary, and users are asked to wait patiently.Under the support of a vast application ecosystem, Harmony OS's market share is rapidly increasing, approaching iOS in the domestic market. According to Counterpoint data, Harmony OS's market share in the domestic market has reached 13%, nearly catching up with iOS's 14%. Considering the enthusiastic response from domestic consumers following the Mate 60 series, the sales of Huawei's upcoming new devices are expected to drive Harmony OS's market share to continue to increase rapidly.

03

A Decade of Polishing a Sword, Stepping into the New PC Track

Since its inception, the Harmony operating system has undergone multiple iterations. In 2012, the idea of developing a distributed operating system was proposed internally at Huawei's Central Software Research Institute, and the Harmony operating system began to germinate. From 2019 to 2024, the Harmony operating system has been rapidly iterating at a rate of almost one version per year. On June 21, 2024, Huawei released Harmony Native Intelligence and announced that HarmonyOS NEXT is open to developers and pioneering users in Beta.

At the 2024 Huawei Cloud & Huawei Terminal Cloud Innovation Summit held on March 15, 2024, Huawei announced that the number of Harmony ecosystem devices has reached 800 million, including high-frequency use terminal devices such as smartphones, PCs, tablets, smart screens, and vehicle machines. According to the Securities Daily Voice public account, on April 7, 2024, Huawei officially announced that more than 4,000 applications have joined the Harmony ecosystem to develop native version applications. From the announcement on January 18 that the first batch of more than 200 application manufacturers were accelerating the development of Harmony native applications, to the end of March, there were more than 4,000 applications, realizing rapid growth of the Harmony ecosystem.

In addition to the fields of mobile and smart home, the Internet of Things, and vehicle networking, Huawei Harmony is actively trying in the PC field. It has not only completed the open-source Harmony adaptation work for Intel PC, but its technical core also supports the development of the PC side. The important potential of the PC market, combined with the development trend of the information innovation industry, Harmony is expected to open up new development space.

According to Canalys data, in 2023, the shipments of desktop and notebook computers in mainland China reached 41.24 million units. Huawei is a main force in the domestic market, with a year-on-year growth rate of 11% in the shipments of desktop and notebook computers in mainland China in 2023; the market share increased from 7% in 2022 to 10%. It can be seen that the domestic PC market still has important potential, and Huawei is rapidly improving its own position.

At the same time, under the trend of domestic substitution, Huawei, as a main force in the information innovation industry, is expected to benefit from the promotion of the domestic substitution trend, and the combination of Harmony and PC is also expected to open up new development space.

Beyond the PC, the first open-source Harmony robot was released, connecting the full-scene ecosystem through the Harmony system.On December 5th last year, according to the official WeChat account of Shenkaihong, the high-dynamic humanoid robot "Kuafu," equipped with Kaihong0s, was officially released. This is the first open-source HarmonyOS humanoid robot in China that can jump and adapt to walking on various terrains. The Kuafu humanoid robot can expand the intelligent connection scenarios of all things by matching Kaihong sensors. Utilizing the Kaihong0S distributed software bus technology, it can achieve interconnection with peripheral devices, realizing multi-device networking and terminal real-time communication, as well as real-time control and perception of multiple devices.

By recognizing the surrounding environment, connecting to Kaihong sensing devices, and accessing data from cameras, temperature and humidity sensors, radar sensors, and other devices, the Kuafu humanoid robot can complete various tasks more flexibly and efficiently.

At the same time, through the connection of Kaihong0s, the Kuafu humanoid robot constructs a full-scenario ecosystem, achieving industrial application landing in scientific research and education, special industries, industrial applications, and smart health care in home scenarios, providing endless possibilities for all walks of life.