HarmonyOS NEXT: Beijing’s Bid for Operating System Independence
HarmonyOS NEXT: Beijing’s Bid for Operating System Independence
By W.Y. Kwok
Executive Summary:
Huawei has launched HarmonyOS NEXT, the first fully self-developed mobile operating system in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) that is independent of Android and Linux/Unix kernels.
HarmonyOS has seen substantial domestic adoption, surpassing iOS to become the PRC’s second-largest operating system with a 17 percent domestic market share.
HarmonyOS is bolstered by strong local government and state enterprise support and is becoming a favorite vendor for managing government applications and running government systems.
The operating system will face challenges in global markets, including the dominance of iOS and Android, security concerns, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Southeast Asia will likely provide the first region in which HarmonOS NEXT will be launched overseas.
On October 22, Huawei’s Executive Director Yu Chengdong (余承东) introduced HarmonyOS NEXT, an updated operating system that has been wholly indigenously developed (The Paper, October 22). This milestone marks the culmination of a strategic initiative launched in 2012 when CEO Ren Zhengfei (任正非) first highlighted the risk associated with relying on foreign operating systems (Tencent News, October 22).
HarmonyOS NEXT is the closest the world has come to an operating system that excludes technology from the United States. As such, it is yet another indicator of the further fracturing of international standards at the level of both software and hardware that began over two decades ago with Beijing’s initial forays into building the “great firewall.”
Breaking Free from Western Dependencies
The launch of the new operating system has been well-received within the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Yu Chengdong noted triumphantly that “in just one short year, [Huawei] has opened up a whole new world that foreign operating systems took over a decade to achieve (用短短的一年时间，开辟了一片新天地，走过了国外操作系统十几年生态发展的道路)” (STCN, October 22). State broadcaster CCTV hailed the launch as “another landmark achievement in breaking the constraints of ‘lacking a core and a soul’ and the technology monopoly of the West (打破“缺芯少魂”掣肘和欧美技术垄断的又一标志性成果)” (Tencent News, October 24). The phrase “lacking a core and a soul (缺芯少魂)” refers to a speech made by Xu Guanhua, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Minister of Science and Technology in 1999, who noted that the domestic industry lacked its own chip sector (the “core”) and its own operating system (the “soul”) (Xueqiu, December 7, 2022).
Huawei’s new operating system represents a complete departure from the original version of HarmonyOS, which technology outlet Ars Technica accused of being “essentially an Android fork,” leading PRC commentators to label the new iteration as “pure blood HarmonyOS (纯血鸿蒙)” (Ars Technica, February 2, 2021). While the source code still relies in large part on Linux and other US-centered open source kernels, HamronyOS NEXT nevertheless constitutes the culmination of efforts to reduce Huawei’s dependency on Android. These efforts began with the Huawei Mobile Service (HMS, 华为移动服务), which replaced Android’s payment, search, and mapping functions with its own. Now in its fifth generation, HarmonyOS NEXT has developed its own kernel, distinct from mainstream Linux and Unix systems, and has built a dedicated ecosystem with domestically developed applications specifically for the HarmonyOS platform (CCTV News, October 29). Applications based on Android will no longer be compatible with HarmonyOS NEXT in the future, underscoring Huawei’s commitment to the PRC’s desire for technological self-reliance to counter the United States.
Government Endorsement Backs Up Domestic Market Success
HarmonyOS has seen substantial growth in the PRC’s domestic market, where it is used in a wide range of devices from smartphones to industrial systems. Now operating on over 1 billion devices, it has become the PRC’s second-largest operating system, surpassing Apple’s iOS to capture17 percent of the country’s market share (The Paper, October 22). The HarmonyOS platform is now host to over 15,000 native applications and “meta-services (元服务),” and the ecosystem currently serves 38 million enterprises nationwide, with applications extending from popular platforms like Alipay and WeChat to specialized industrial automation systems (The Paper, October 23; iFeng, October 26).
Local government integration has become a crucial driver of HarmonyOS adoption. The Shenzhen government has released targeted support plans for HarmonyOS “native application development (鸿蒙原生应用发展).” These policies include providing incentives for software companies to develop HarmonyOS applications and establishing specialized industrial parks for this purpose, with the aim of achieving over 10 percent of nation’s total HarmonyOS applications by the end of this year (Xinhua, March 3). Similar initiatives in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong Province highlight widespread government endorsement of the operating system. Native HarmonyOS provincial government applications such as “iShenzhen (i深圳),” “Xiangyiban (湘易办),” and “Ai Shandong (爱山东)” have been launched to integrate government services including healthcare, transportation, and finance with the HarmonyOS ecosystem (The Paper, October 15; ST Daily, October 25).
Huawei has been one of the key architects of the PRC’s “Digital Government (数字政府)” initiative. This project aligns with policies outlined in the 2023 Government Work Report, which emphasizes “integrating the digital economy with the real economy (促进数字经济和实体经济深度融合)” and accelerating digital transformation across traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises. Huawei’s contributions to date include pioneering the first government terminal security control model and developing smart government systems to support rural revitalization programs (Huawei case studies, April 26, 2023; Xinhua, November 24, 2023).
Qingyun (擎云), a Huawei brand that is pitched to businesses and governments, has been at the forefront of government digitization. Since launching an array of HarmonyOS-equipped devices from desktops and tablets, it has tripled its government sector user base in less than two years (Sina Finance, September 2). Its “All-Scenario Smart Government Solution (擎云智慧政务全场景解决方案)” recently won the “2024 Security Industry Excellent Solution Award” at the International Public Security Products Expo, underlining the system’s robust security credentials. The prize was awarded for its utility for ensuring security in four key areas of government operations: document handling, meeting management, office work, and administrative management (Xinhua, October 23).
Challenges Remain in Consumer, Overseas Markets
Huawei’s domestic outlook remains promising, in part because it aligns so closely with long-standing national strategic goals. HarmonyOS NEXT nevertheless faces three challenges: technical complexity, ecosystem development, and user adoption. The success of the system’s seamless integration between software and chips, which is critical for an efficient ecosystem and smooth performance, will be put to the test by consumers. HarmonyOS still has to bridge the gap between itself and the well-established ecosystems of Android and iOS, and it may take time before users are willing to transition from familiar platforms to this new system (China Fund, October 27). While Huawei might still manage to overcome these challenges, it faces significant obstacles in its planned international expansion over the next two years.
The dominance of the iOS-Android duopoly in the global market will make it difficult for Huawei to make inroads. This is compounded by concerns about data privacy and security. Achieving international success will require not only technical excellence but also an ability to navigate geopolitical tensions. Analysts in the PRC have cautioned that “strict precautions and die-hard defense (严防死守)” from the United States could further hinder Huawei’s progress overseas(Tencent News, October 22; 21 Jingji, October 24).
HarmonyOS NEXT could see early international adoption in Southeast Asia, where Huawei already has a solid brand presence. Countries like Indonesia and Thailand, with growing digital economies and close ties to the PRC’s tech sector, might serve as an initial testing grounds for its global expansion.
Conclusion
HarmonyOS NEXT reflects Beijing’s technological ambitions and drive for digital sovereignty. As such, it serves as a reminder of the extent to which the United States has enabled Beijing to engineer the splintering of the global digital commons. Its development holds the potential to reshape the global tech landscape and impact future US-PRC relations. The extent to which the platform is accepted in international markets may prove a bellwether for other PRC tech companies that hope to expand globally. As Huawei refines its ecosystem and prepares for international expansion, its success could influence how other nations pursue technological independence in an increasingly fragmented digital world.
This article originally appeared in China Brief. Check it out here!
W.Y. Kwok is a former Hong Kong journalist covering geopolitics, public policy, and the media landscape in the Asia-Pacific.