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Huawei’s Open Source Operating System HarmonyOS Is The Answer To Google’s Android

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Huawei’s Open Source Operating System HarmonyOS Is The Answer To Google’s Android

Key takeaways

  • Huawei's HarmonyOS is designed to reduce dependency on US technology amid ongoing trade tensions.
  • The operating system is microkernel-based and compatible with various device types, enhancing its versatility.
  • Huawei has developed HarmonyOS as a flexible alternative to Android, addressing the challenges posed by the US ban.
  • The platform supports a wide range of RAM sizes and has restrictions on root access for security.

Takeaways drafted with AI from the article text.

With the US Government banning Chinese telecom giant Huawei, Chinese companies are doubling down on building their own competencies to reduce dependency on US. The company has taken a lead in developing their own chipsets for telecommunication and even launched 5G networks. The ensuing trade war has resulted in China showing the world they can become one of the undisputed global leaders in the field of emerging technologies. Recently, Huawei announced its own operating system HarmonyOS at the annual developer conference. HarmonyOS is the first-ever microkernel-based distributed operating system which can be used regardless of any systems.  The tech giant has been working on this operating system for several years. In the conference, Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Technologies Consumer Business Group showed off the operating system through one of its Honor Vision TV. This new operating system is supported in various devices like smartwatches, smart TVs, smartphones, computers, laptops, cars, tablets, wireless earbuds and much more. Huawei Smartphones were solely dependent on Android operating systems and after the ban, Chinese companies have adopted a Plan B, which is the development of a new and much more flexible operating system than the existing ones.  According to the reports, Yu said that the platform supports various sizes of RAM ranging from kilobytes to gigabytes and this operating system will have no support for any root access. The platform also supports a number of applications where applications from other operating systems like Linux, Android, etc will be compatible. HarmonyOS will use ARK compiler for app development and it will also support several other languages such as Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, C, and C++.  HarmonyOS 1.0 will be launched this year within the smart screen products. Then the next three pears are planned to optimise this operating system and make it adopt across a wider number of smart devices and other wearables, etc. 

How Is Harmony Is Different From The Existing Ones

According to reports, Yu stated that HarmonyOS is a microkernel-based operating system which makes it flexible for deployment as well as easy in developing applications in all kinds of scenarios. In this OS, once an application is developed it can be deployed easily and flexibly across a range of different devices. The CEO stated that migrating from Android to their new platform is not that difficult and in future, this new operating system can be used as a replacement to Android.

Way Forward 

The US banned Huawei Technologies regarding national security issues which made a significant impact on China’s tech landscape. As a result of the trade-war, Google suspended the access of Android to Huawei for which the future handsets will not be able to access any of the Google applications including the Google Play Store and the already available handsets will not be able to update the applications from Google Play Store. However, Huawei was already working on the OS even before the ban was declared, but the trade war leads the company to put more efforts into developing the operating system.  According to sources, a few days back, the Chinese officials said that Indian firms which are engaged in business with China will have to face “reverse sanctions” if India blocks Huawei technologies from doing business because of pressure from Washington. The US government asked it’s allies to discontinue the use of Huawei technologies like chips and smart screen products for the purpose of national security. Currently, the Indian telecom companies like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio are in a dilemma to whether use the infrastructures of Huawei technologies in the core part of 5G technologies or use it on the non-core part. https://twitter.com/Huawei/status/1160098661679808512

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