Huawei Tipped to Roll Out HarmonyOS Next in September 2024 Ditching Support for Android Apps

A beta version of HarmonyOS Next is expected to be released at Huawei’s developer conference in June.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 20 May 2024 15:29 IST

Huawei Tipped to Roll Out HarmonyOS Next in September 2024 Ditching Support for Android Apps

Photo Credit: Weibo/@WHYLAB

Once the transition is complete, Huawei smartphone users will not be able to install Android apps

Highlights

HarmonyOS Next is said to be expanded to all Huawei smartphones this year
The OS was first announced at the Huawei Developer Conference 2023
The company said 4,000 apps for its native OS were ready to be released

Huawei could begin rolling out its in-house operating system HarmonyOS Next in September 2024, as per a new leak. The new OS is said to be built on Hongmeng kernel and system applications, and does not rely on Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code. This shift will result in all Android apps running on Huawei devices being incompatible. However, the Chinese smartphone maker is preparing for this contingency. It confirmed earlier this year that as many as 4,000 apps compatible with the new OS were ready to be deployed.

According to a post by tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Huawei has finalised a rollout date for its in-house OS. The post stated (translated by Google), “HarmonyOS NEXT is internally scheduled for September. In the second half of the year, candy bar flagships, foldable flagships, mid-range phones, tablets, watches, etc. are all arranged. Wait for the actual test.”

Based on the leak, it appears Huawei is not planning a phased transition of its devices and instead will be rolling out the Android-free HarmonyOS Next to all of its devices together. Interestingly, the Huawei Mate 70 series is also expected to be launched in September, and it might arrive with the new operating system out-of-the-box.

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Huawei showed off the HarmonyOS Next last year in a video posted on YouTube. Visually, it does not appear vastly different from Android, however, app arrangements, widgets, as well as the notification bar and control centre have significant differences, and follow the design language of previous iterations of HarmonyOS.

One significant issue Huawei smartphone users might face is the lack of support for Android apps. This would not only include apps downloaded from the official Play Store but also those downloaded from third-party marketplaces in the APK format. Instead, HarmonyOS Next apps will reportedly support its native HAP format.

As per a report by Gizmochina, the Chinese smartphone maker aims to ready 5,000 apps in its marketplace by the time the new OS update reaches the first batch of users. The company also has a long-term vision of having 500,000 apps.

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Further reading: HarmonyOS Next, HarmonyOS, Huawei, Android, Apps

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More