Huawei kicks Windows and delivers PCs with HarmonyOS

[German]Chinese manufacturer Huawei has announced that it will soon be ditching Microsoft Windows and shipping its devices with its own HarmonyOS.

This is information that I came across here at the end of September 2024. Until now, Huawei has equipped notebooks and PCs with Microsoft Windows. Following the disputes between China and the US over Huawei technology, in which Huawei was cut off from access to US products, the company has reoriented itself.

There is still a generation of devices that come with Microsoft Windows. The current PCs from Huawei are the last to run Windows. Future devices will run its own HarmonyOS instead. This statement was made by the Chairman of the company's Consumer Business Group, Yu Chengdong, in an interview.

In this interview Yu Chengdong presented HarmonyOS Next. This is an operating system developed entirely by Huawei, which has a completely new kernel that does not require Linux. However, HarmonyOS Next also does not run any Android apps. Huawei claims that this operating system offers better performance and security.

To put this into perspective: this would not be a major blow for Microsoft, as Huawei only holds around 10% of the Chinese PC market. The big player there is probably Lenovo with 38%, followed by HP with 10%. However, both companies continue to rely on Windows .

Neither company has any interest in taking over Huawei's operating system, according to The Register. At the moment, HarmonyOS is also reportedly lacking support from major software providers – especially game developers. Unless politically patriotic reasons arise to incorporate Chinese technology into the devices, HarmonyOS is likely to lead a niche existence.