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Chinese telecom giant Huawei has officially launched its homegrown operating system (OS) “Harmony,” previously known as HongmengOS.
The unveiling took place on Friday at an annual developer conference in south China’s Guangdong Province.
Before introducing HarmonyOS, Huawei CEO Richard Yu, explained the company’s thought process behind the new OS, saying people in the future will require a seamless intelligent experience across all devices and scenarios.
Undoubtedly, Harmony was built to rival, compete or even replace Google’s Android as Huawei has not hidden the fact that it has been working on its own OS.
Recall that in May, Google suspended Huawei’s Android license following sanctions from the US government.
The new OS featuring low latency and high security is designed to meet those needs, supporting all future Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the company said. It will first be used in wearable devices, smart screens, in-vehicle systems and smart speakers.
Yu said Huawei is facing troubling times due to the Trump administration’s move to impose sanctions.
“But Huawei still achieved over 24 percent sales growth in the first quarter,” Yu said, adding that without the sanctions, Huawei’s smartphone shipment would likely be the world’s largest in that period.