![]() Apple requires developers to own a Mac for the iOS SDK, but from there it's just a simple trip to the App Store to download Xcode.īefore you can try Harmony OS, by contrast, Huawei requires you to pass a two-day background check. For Android, you Google "Android SDK" from any desktop computer, click the first link, and press the download button. For me, getting HarmonyOS meant finding my passport.įor comparison, let's first talk about how other vendors serve up their operating system SDKs. But first-a two-day background check?!īefore we dive into HarmonyOS, we have to actually get HarmonyOS, which is an incredible hassle. Supposedly some Huawei Android phones like the P40 Pro can be switched over to HarmonyOS through some kind of closed beta. So while there's not much new to see, we can at least dissect HarmonyOS and debunk some of Huawei's claims about its "brand-new" operating system. The phrase "fake it till you make it" is often given as motivational advice, but I've never seen it applied to OS development before. If you've ever seen a modern Huawei Android phone, HarmonyOS is largely the same thing. The developer documents appear almost purposefully written to confuse the reader any bit of actual shipping code to which you hold up a magnifying glass looks like Android with no major changes. The way that Huawei describes the OS to the press and in developer documents doesn't seem to have much to do with what the company is actually shipping. Naturally, we had to take a deep dive.Īfter getting access to HarmonyOS through a grossly invasive sign-up process, firing up the SDK and emulator, and poring over the developer documents, I can't come to any other conclusion: HarmonyOS is essentially an Android fork. That makes HarmonyOS sound super interesting. CNN called HarmonyOS "a rival to Android," and Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group, told the outlet that HarmonyOS "is completely different from Android and iOS." Huawei President of Consumer Software Wang Chenglu repeated these claims just last month, saying ( through translation), "HarmonyOS is not a copy of Android, nor is it a copy of iOS." Huawei's OS announcement in 2019 got big, splashy articles in the national media. To hear Huawei tell the story, HarmonyOS is an original in-house creation-a defiant act that will let the company break free of American software influence. Can Huawei succeed where Windows Phone, Blackberry 10, Sailfish OS, Ubuntu Touch, Firefox OS, Symbian, MeeGo, WebOS, and Samsung's Tizen have all tried and failed? ![]() "Version 2" was released in December, bringing "beta" smartphone support to the operating system for the first time. The company's attempt at an in-house OS is called "HarmonyOS" (also known as "HongmengOS" in China). So, as many companies have tried to do before it, Huawei hopes to make an Android killer. While hardware independence is something the company needs to work on, Huawei also needs to get free of Google's software. Huawei's latest Q4 2020 numbers show its phone sales in free fall, dropping 42 percent year-over-year.īecause of this, Huawei wants independence from the worldwide smartphone supply chain. Building a phone is hard without access to key parts and apps. In 2019, the US government banned US exports to Huawei, which cut the company off from access to most chip and software suppliers. Huawei is China's-and formerly the world's-largest smartphone vendor, and over the past 18 months, it learned an important lesson: the company can't rely on the US supply chain.
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