Huawei breaks from Android with latest operating system

China’s Huawei Technologies has announced plans to roll out a developer version of its ‘HarmonyOS Next’ platform in the second quarter of this year, followed by a full commercial version in the fourth quarter.

According to a company statement highlighting the launch event for the platform in its home city of Shenzhen, the latest iteration of its in-house Harmony operating system will not support Android apps as it looks to bolster its software ecosystem.

Huawei first unveiled its proprietary Harmony system in 2019 and prepared to launch it on some smartphones a year later after U.S. restrictions cut its access to Google’s technical support for its Android mobile OS.

However, earlier versions of Harmony allowed apps built for Android to be used on the system, which will no longer be possible, according to a report by domestic financial media Caixin.

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Last August, Huawei unexpectedly launched its Mate60 series of smartphones, which are believed to be powered by a domestically developed chipset.

The release was widely viewed as marking Huawei’s comeback into the high-end smartphone market after years of struggling under U.S. sanctions.

The company expects 2023 revenue to exceed 700 billion yuan ($97.3 billion), amounting to 9% year-on-year growth, according to an internal message last month.