Smart Ecosystem Construction Trend... Huawei Unveils 'HarmonyOS 2'

Unified IoT Platform 'HarmonyOS 2' Unveiled
Connecting Smartphones, Smartwatches, and Home Appliances
Collaboration with 1,000 Partners Including Home Appliances, Drones, and Watches

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Huawei is developing an integrated Internet of Things (IoT) platform that connects various devices beyond a simple smartphone operating system. The smart ecosystem, which had so far been applied only to some smart TVs, will be expanded to various fields such as general home appliances, drones, and watches.

Combined into a Super Device According to User Needs

Huawei announced on the 4th that it unveiled its own operating system, 'HarmonyOS 2,' on the 2nd. HarmonyOS is a common solution that allows different types of devices to connect and collaborate. HarmonyOS is a system using distributed technology that meets the requirements of various devices.

According to the user's real-time needs, it integrates all hardware and resources to freely utilize the functions of individual devices by combining them into a super device. For developers, it enables cross-platform development and cross-device app deployment, improving app development efficiency.

Customers can use innovative features such as the control panel, task center, and home screen of HarmonyOS 2. By opening the control panel and simply dragging the smart screen icon, videos connect directly from the phone to the TV. The task center supports freely moving between different devices without installing apps on each device, allowing the use of all functions and services at the necessary time and place. The home screen of HarmonyOS 2 allows widgets to be created, easily called up, and shared, enabling more convenient use.

Additionally, Huawei applied privacy protection and security technologies used in EMUI, which was based on the Android 10 open source, directly to HarmonyOS, focusing on user privacy protection. When multi-device collaboration authentication is activated, users can unlock their phones only through a special check that verifies whether the smartphone’s facial recognition and the smartwatch connected to the device are the same as the smartwatch the user is wearing.

Collaboration with Over 1,000 Partners Including Home Appliances, Drones, and Watches

The number of partner companies included in the Huawei HarmonyOS ecosystem reaches about 1,000 smart hardware devices. At the HarmonyOS 2 launch event, Huawei announced that it operates the HarmonyOS mobile ecosystem on smart terminals in partnership with various companies such as Chinese home appliance maker Midea, drone company SZ DJI Technology, Swiss watch brands Tissot and Swatch. Last year, Huawei’s own brand Honor equipped TVs with HarmonyOS.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said, "HarmonyOS 2 is designed to operate not only on smartphones but also on various IoT devices, differentiating it from Android and Apple’s iOS. We look forward to building a thriving HarmonyOS ecosystem by cooperating with more partners and developers and providing customers with better experiences, products, and services."

Huawei expects the total number of smart terminals equipped with HarmonyOS to reach 300 million by the end of 2021. According to the US economic media CNBC, Huawei announced that nearly 100 of its products in China will support HarmonyOS within the year. It also emphasized that its older phones can be upgraded to HarmonyOS.

Meanwhile, Huawei has unveiled HarmonyOS and released flagship smartphones such as the Mate40 series, foldable phones Mate, the smartwatch Watch Series 3, and the tablet ‘MatePad Pro’ equipped with it.

Foreign media analyzed that the US-China conflict led to this outcome. On the 2nd (local time), BBC reported, "As Huawei was unable to access major Google apps such as Gmail due to US government sanctions and could no longer use the Android operating system, products equipped with HarmonyOS have diversified." The global release date is undecided.

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