After all the tussle and war, Huawei is now all set to start upon a new journey. The ban on Google services turned out to be the biggest setback for Huawei, and it readily made the company unsellable all around the world except China. It taught the world’s second largest smartphone company a very important lesson, and the result is here, Harmony OS.
A new OS just for Huawei and Honor devices, like iOS for Apple.
As the company says, its a microkernel-based distributed operating system specifically designed to deliver a cohesive user experience. Launched as Harmony OS, the Huawei operating system will work across all devices and systems. It is said to offer the same seamless experience as other Android devices.
So, can Huawei actually exist without Google? Let’s find out.
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Huawei vs Android vs iOS: Who Stands Where?
Currently Google powered Android holds over 76 percent of the mobile OS market. Up next it’s Apple’s iOS with 22 percent market share. For those who don’t know, Huawei is the world’s second largest smartphone company with the highest number of shipments after Samsung. The sales dropped amid ban, and it slipped to number three spot in the last quarter.
Currently it has around 18 percent of the total market, and all their smartphones run on Google powered Android OS.
With all the future Huawei and Honor devices shifting to Harmony OS, they will have a substantial number to position itself as a standalone competitor against the likes of iOS and Android.
How Different Is Harmony OS?
It’s a kernel based operating system. Harmony OS is basically a toned-down version of kernel, specifically a microkernel, to offer better efficiency and low latency. HarmonyOS is totally different than the existing popular OS systems, specially crafted to work seamlessly. To start with, HarmonyOS supports collaborative processing across devices.
Secondly, one can develop apps on the platform directly to offer application services across all range of different Huawei and Honor devices.
Unlike Android or iOS or any specific OS, where different operating systems are released with each new type of device, the HarmonyOS can work on any device, irrespective of any use. Be it a television or wearable or tablet or smartphone, the apps and services can work on all these Harmony OS powered devices seamlessly without any further assistance.
How Easy Will It Be For Developers?
As you currently need to create different OS versions for different platforms and types of devices, and then again different apps for multiple platforms, this won’t be an issue with HarmonyOS. Like if XYZ streaming service is planning to develop an app for HarmonyOS, it just needs to have a single app, and not an app for different devices, like smartphones or TV or tablet.
In HarmonyOS the app developers won’t have to deal with any sort of underlying technology for distributed apps.
All they need to do is focus on their one single individual service logic, and it will allow its service to work on all sorts of devices available within the same operating system. The single code will run on different devices, delivering the same collaborative experience seamlessly without seperate specific codings.
User Privacy & Security: Can HarmonyOS Be Better Than Android & iOS?
We are yet to experience HarmonyOS in real life. It does sound promising, and have the capability to deliver the best. The popular platforms as Android or iOS are not bad, and they do offer seamless experience. While Android is still being questioned by many for its security and user privacy, the Apple OS enjoys much loyalty among its users.
In comparison, the HarmonyOS strives to offer a better experience onboard. As the Chinese tech giant claimed, the new OS will be reducing the response latency of apps by 25.7 per cent compared to existing OS platforms.
The HarmonyOS is based on a much-developed microkernel design. So, as it says, the features have been enhanced to the best level possible to offer high-end security and low latency. As Google faces a lot of criticism for the privacy and security on Android, Huawei has the chance to cash in here.
Adaptability & Future Roadmap: How To Connect?
The new OS will be able to automatically adapt to different systems irrespective of any screen, layout and controls. It supports both drag-and-drop control and preview-oriented visual programming. As a result, it will allow the developers to act and work more efficiently and focus on a single service logic.
HarmonyOS will be available as an open-source platform globally to encourage broader adoption.
The first generation HarmonyOS 1.0 will be first adopted in all the Huawei’s smart screen products, which are scheduled to launch in the second half of 2019. HarmonyOS will be further optimized gradually over the next three years and adopted across a broader range of smart devices.
HarmonyOS & Its Future: Will Users Leave Android & iOS?
Usually it’s quite difficult for a user to get into a new ecosystem, specifically when probably they are already getting something really good. But if there’s something better for the new OS to offer, users will definitely give HarmonyOS a try. There will be initial problems with its adoption, and it will take time. The major problem is how will people take it. Previously big companies have failed, look at the Microsoft-Nokia Windows OS.
The company will have to ensure the total portability. All the important and popular apps have to be engulfed into the new platform, and it will be huge.
Currently all important app features are API-based, and all these have to be made compatible with HarmonyOS, linkages to peripherals like cameras, fingerprint readers, microphones, AR sensors and more.
While Huawei will have it easy in home market China, making users to adopt Harmony OS globally is not going to be an easy job. There has been some classic failures of some popular OS systems as Windows and Tizen. Users won’t buy Harmony OS unless it’s as good as Android or iOS.
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