In 2019, the US Department of Commerce put Huawei on an "Entity List", which banned it from dealing with any US company. The move led Google to revoke Huawei's Android license, among other repercussions. Then, Huawei developed its own OS, HarmonyOS, for phones, tablets.
Wang Chenglu, former Huawei executive and now CEO of Shenzhen Kaihong Digital Industry Development, recently revealed on Weibo (Chinese social media) that HarmonyOS will be coming to PCs.
When someone had asked if a PC version of Hongmeng will be released next year, Chenglu responded with a "Yes" to indicate that a HarmonyOS PC variant is planned for 2024. It is worth noting that HarmonyOS is called Hongmeng in China, and OpenHarmony for PC is available to some testers.
However, a timeline for HarmonyOS' launch on PCs has not yet been set. Huawei has declined to install HarmonyOS on its MateBook line of laptops since it still has access to Windows for global distribution.
According to Huawei, HarmonyOS will enable easier connectivity and seamless experience between devices. This could provide some competition to the Windows and Mac operating systems currently dominating the PC landscape.
Considering other operating systems (Android, iOS, macOS, ChromeOS, Linux, and others), Windows remains the second most popular OS, losing ground only to Android. Windows had a 28.29% market share between Android and iOS in April 2023.
The launch may start in China first before expanding to other markets. This would follow Huawei's smartphone strategy, where it uses HarmonyOS globally. The company has upgraded over 100 Android models to HarmonyOS since 2020.
The release of HarmonyOS for PCs will be an important milestone for Huawei's operating system ambitions. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if it will gain traction outside of China against the entrenched Windows and macOS options consumers are used to.
Source: Weibo via IThome
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