BEIJING: In wake of the US-China trade war, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei on Friday officially launched its own operating system (OS) called “HarmonyOS” which is aimed to reduce the company’s reliance on Google-developed Android OS.
The CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, announced the new OS just as Huawei Developer Conference (HDC) 2019 is about to begin in Dongguan, China.
Focused on improved cross-platform working, HarmonyOS would work across a wide range of devices including smart speakers, automobiles, computers, smartwatches, wireless earbuds apart from smartphones and tablets, web portal Phone Areana reported on Friday.
In China, the software will be known as HongmengOS.
Even though the company has launched its own OS, Huawei still plans to continue to harness Android in its smartphones.
The first-ever Huawei smartphone to run the new HarmonyOS is slated to be showcased on August 10 at the three-day HDC 2019 event.
Ever since Google suspended the Huawei’s Android license back in May, following the US government’s decision to put Huawei on the Entity List, there had been a lot of speculation about Huawei’s in-house OS.
In the thick of trade tensions between the US and China, earlier in May it was reported that to avoid hacking risks, Chinese officials have decided to develop a custom OS for PCs that would replace Microsoft Windows which is currently used by the Chinese military.
(Agencies)
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