Huawei announces its own open source operating system HarmonyOS

Huawei has announced its operating system HarmonyOS at its own developer conference. In China, the name is HongmengOS. Starting this year, the operating system will come to “display devices” such as TVs in China. Huawei says it would rather not replace Android.

Huawei presents HarmonyOS as an operating system for iot devices and other hardware. Unlike Android, it is not based on the Linux kernel, but on a microkernel. Huawei uses a deterministic latency engine and claims that the own operating system therefore works more smoothly than, for example, Android, with fewer delays.

CEO Richard Yu says that display devices such as TVs that run on the new OS will be released in China later this year, according to CNBC. In the next three years, more and more devices will come with Huawei’s own OS, including wearables and multimedia systems for cars. The operating system must therefore also be released in other countries.

Huawei is not yet talking about a smartphone with HarmonyOS. The manufacturer does say that the operating system is suitable for phones and that it can switch directly from Android to its own OS if necessary. However, the Huawei CEO emphasizes that it is preferable to continue using Android.

Huawei was blacklisted by the United States in May, barring US companies from trading with the Chinese electronics giant. Google subsequently withdrew Huawei’s Android license. The US government has now said that companies can request permission to continue working with Huawei, but according to Bloomberg, the decision has been postponed. Fifty American companies have made such an application.

Update, 10:45 AM: Huawei closed the announcement with the announcement that it is an open source operating system.