Huawei to Use Own OS 'Hongmeng' from Next Year Amid US Sanctions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Chinese tech giant Huawei has finally decided to use its independently developed operating system (OS), 'Hongmeng' (Harmony), instead of Google Android on its smartphones.

Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's Consumer Business Group, announced at the annual developer conference held on the afternoon of the 10th in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, that starting next year, Huawei smartphones will fully support the Hongmeng OS.

Yu stated that the Hongmeng OS for smartphones is scheduled to be unveiled in December this year.

Hongmeng is a universal OS developed by Huawei. It can be used across various products, from smartphones to TVs, computers, and wearable devices.

Huawei first revealed Hongmeng last August. It initially began using it on some products such as smart TVs, but the application to the most popular consumer product, smartphones, had been continuously postponed.

Huawei's decision to finally use Hongmeng on smartphones appears to be based on the judgment that due to the prolonged US sanctions, it will not be possible to use Android normally in the short term.

Since the US government sanctions began in May last year, Huawei has been unable to conduct business with the US company Google.

With Google Mobile Services (GMS) no longer supported on Huawei smartphones, the company faced significant challenges.

Huawei's new smartphones released after the US sanctions, such as the Mate 30, could not have official Android installed.

Due to the absence of the Google Play Store for downloading apps, overseas consumers shunned Huawei smartphones despite their excellent hardware performance, including cameras.

However, Huawei's path ahead seems difficult. Huawei's adoption of Hongmeng instead of Android does not simply mean changing the OS but signifies the need to build a new ecosystem independently.

Huawei is encouraging app developers worldwide to join the Huawei ecosystem by offering incentives, but it is expected to be far from easy to secure enough apps comparable to Google's Play Store or Apple's App Store.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.