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Huawei's HarmonyOS has garnered 4% market share globally and 16% in China
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The porting of major apps like WeChat is going to be crucial for the development of HarmonyOS ecosystem
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The company is targeting to have one million apps in HarmonyOS in the future
Chinese bellwether Huawei has intensified its focus on HarmonyOS, homegrown operating system, by asking app developers and owners to join its developing HarmonyOS-native app ecosystem and initiating the porting of apps.
"In the China market, Huawei smartphone users spend 99% of their time on about 5,000 apps. So we decided to spend 2024 porting these apps over to HarmonyOS first in our drive to truly unify the OS and the app ecosystem," said Eric Xu, Huawei's Deputy Chairman and Rotating Chairman, at the Huawei Analyst Summit (HAS), which ended on April 19.
"More than 4,000 of these 5,000 apps are already in the process of moving over. And we're still communicating with developers on the 1,000 or so apps that remain," he added.
After building the HarmonyOS app ecosystem in the China market, the company plans to move from "country to country" to build a global app ecosystem for HarmonyOS. Huawei plans to invest CNY7 billion (around $1 billion) to promote developers to innovate in HarmonyOS native applications, meta-services and software development kits (SDKs). It also plans to train over 100,000 HarmonyOS developers every month.
Next up: HarmonyOS, the commercial version
Since its launch in 2019, HarmonyOS has emerged as the third-largest operating system globally, with a 4% market share. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, Android led with a 74% market share, followed by Apple's iOS with a 23% market share and HarmonyOS with a 4% market share, according to Counterpoint Research. Huawei claims HarmonyOS has been deployed in over 800 million devices.
Huawei launched HarmonyOS Next, the latest version of HarmonyOS, earlier this year. Unlike the previous version, HarmonyOS Next doesn't support Android-based applications. The company is planning to release the commercial version of HarmonyOS Next by the fourth quarter of 2024.
In addition to porting 5,000 apps to HarmonyOS, the company is targeting having one million apps in its ecosystem in the future. It is crucial for app developers and owners to join its HarmonyOS-native app ecosystem to ensure a better consumer experience, which will be critical for the widespread adoption of the OS.
Even as HarmonyOS ecosystem continues to grow it faces several challenges. "For the Chinese market, it's essential to get WeChat and Douyin ported over to HarmonyOS NEXT, which hasn't happened yet. Outside of China, it's an even harder task given that even with the original (Android) version of HarmonyOS, it was an uphill battle to get developers to adjust from using Google to Huawei APIs," says Bryan Ma, Vice President – Devices Research, IDC Asia Pacific.
The geopolitical factor
Possibly, the biggest challenge for Huawei in boosting HarmonyOS is the geopolitical factors. "Huawei's efforts are a result of geopolitical tensions and being blocked from Google Mobile Services. And by moving to HarmonyOS NEXT, it further distances itself from Android," says Bryan Ma.
"Huawei's strategic shift towards HarmonyOS reflects a calculated response to market dynamics and geopolitical challenges. While HarmonyOS has made notable strides, reaching 4% global smartphone sales share by operating system, and 16% in China, its emergence as a prominent mobile operating system globally hinges on several factors," says Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research.
This focus on HarmonyOS also reflects the hardening of the stance between the US and China. As per media reports, Huawei shut down its lobbying operations in the US earlier this year. In addition, China recently asked the three telcos, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, to remove American chips from their networks.
In addition, competing with established and globally accepted operating systems, like Android and iOS, will require Huawei not just to address geopolitical challenges but also to innovate technically.
"HarmonyOS's technical comparison with Android and iOS reveals its progress in enhancing user experience, addressing software advantages to complement hardware innovations. However, achieving parity with established ecosystems requires sustained development and adoption, especially amidst regulatory and competitive dynamics. While HarmonyOS presents opportunities for Huawei, navigating geopolitical complexities and technical challenges will shape its trajectory and potential impact on global mobile operating systems," says Ivan Lam of Counterpoint Research.
Even as the company focuses on strengthening HarmonyOS Next, it was pushed to develop its own operating system because it was banned by Google’s Android.
"Developing HarmonyOS was not previously part of our strategy. Rather, it is something we have been forced into. Regardless, now that we have taken on this task, we will strive to do it well," says Xu.