On January 18, 2024, Huawei announced that the developer preview of HarmonyOS NEXT, called the “Stellar Edition,” is now open for developer applications. This marks the second phase in the evolution of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, signaling a rapid harmonization of applications across a myriad of industries.
Huawei’s Executive Director, CEO of the Consumer Business Group, and Chairman of the Smart Car Solutions BU, Yu Chengdong, updated on the progress of the HarmonyOS ecosystem. Within just five months, the number of devices equipped with HarmonyOS surged from 700 million to 800 million, forming an interconnected web across diverse industries that beckons a new trillion-dollar market. Currently, over 200 application vendors are fast-tracking the development of native HarmonyOS applications. Yu Chengdong announced, “In 2020, I proposed the idea that ‘no one can extinguish the stars in the sky.’ With the concerted effort of our partners and developers, the grand vision of the HarmonyOS ecosystem has been realized. As an operating system for all scenarios of interconnected devices, HarmonyOS belongs to every developer. We firmly believe that every star will eventually contribute to a magnificent galaxy, and HarmonyOS is destined to pave a new ecological path in collaboration with thousands of developers.”
Introducing the Stellar Edition of HarmonyOS, Where Stars Converge Into a Brilliant Galaxy
Since its inception in 2015, HarmonyOS has been a decade in the making, forging a versatile operating system for all scenarios. It is now operational on many devices, covering a wide range of uses. HarmonyOS delves into the foundational breakthroughs in the operating system kernel, AI models, AI frameworks, compilers, programming languages, and more, establishing a solid foundation for the ecosystem. The HarmonyOS microkernel, in particular, surpasses traditional kernels with enhanced elasticity, security, and fluidity, making it more adaptable to various types of devices.
The Stellar Edition of HarmonyOS, which has just been made available to developers, aims to offer an unparalleled user experience that is natively refined, easy to use, smooth, secure, intelligent, and interconnected. HarmonyOS will be the first operating system history to integrate hardware compatibility and support diverse interactions and seamless experiences across different scenarios.
Over 200 Vendors Accelerate Embracing HarmonyOS, A True Operating System is One With a Strong Foundation and Ecosystem
Since the announcement of HarmonyOS NEXT and the full-scale activation of HarmonyOS native applications last September, the first set of over 200 native HarmonyOS applications has been in rapid development. These cover areas such as convenient living, travel and tourism, financial services, social information, productivity tools, media entertainment, and gaming, shaping a comprehensive scope of native HarmonyOS apps. In addition, partners like Ant Group, China UnionPay, and iFLYTEK have opened up innovative capabilities in their domains, collaborating with Huawei’s platform capabilities to provide developers with efficient end-to-end development tools, potentially reducing workload by as much as 90%. This helps industries accelerate the development of HarmonyOS applications. Partners can also quickly join the HarmonyOS ecosystem through ultra-simple development of microservices. This represents an optimal opportunity for application vendors to embrace HarmonyOS and move toward a future of integrated scenarios.
The constant influx of talent is a vital source of energy for the growth and development of the ecosystem. In terms of talent cultivation, 305 universities are now participating in HarmonyOS-related activities. HarmonyOS has entered 135 campuses with public courses, and 286 enterprises have joined the HarmonyOS Ecosystem Academy. Over 380,000 developers have been certified in HarmonyOS, with more than 150 industry-academia collaboration projects contributing to the continuous innovation and thriving development of the HarmonyOS ecosystem.
HarmonyOS: A New Ecosystem for the All-Scenario Era
HarmonyOS represents a new ecosystem for the era of all-scenario applications. As this ecosystem enters its second phase, Huawei hopes to work together with more developers to fast-track the harmonization of applications across all trades and industries, creating a HarmonyOS garden together.
Currently, under HarmonyOS’s all-scenario service distribution, 87.6% of cabin operations are managed by the virtual assistant Xiaoyi; Xiaoyi has over 200 million monthly active users on phones, with over 100 service categories covered by Xiaoyi’s scenario cards. A new ecosystem where “everything is a service, and everything is shareable” has already taken shape.
The stellar edition of HarmonyOS will not only benefit users with its native intelligent features of cloud collaboration but will also support the efficient and secure use of large models by applications. Developers can integrate HarmonyOS’s native intelligence with as “little as one line of code,” enabling “zero-cost” AI application development. Furthermore, leveraging the new “heterogeneous native” parallel mechanism in the HarmonyOS kernel, a smooth experience surpassing traditional kernels will be realized, tripling memory management efficiency.
HarmonyOS has achieved the highest security level certification in the industry, thanks to its exceptional kernel-level security capabilities. With its innovative privacy architecture and significantly reduced authorization pop-ups, the system drastically lowers the risk of privacy breaches. This greatly enhances consumer perception and trust in privacy protection, making the user experience simpler and more secure.
To further boost the development of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, Huawei has announced the “Starlight Program,” investing 7 billion yuan to incentivize developers in creating innovative HarmonyOS native apps, microservices, and SDKs. In collaboration with partners and leveraging resources like the HarmonyOS Ecosystem Academy and university partnerships, Huawei aims to cultivate over 100,000 HarmonyOS developers each month. Additionally, the 2024 HarmonyOS Innovation Competition has been launched, offering prizes of up to one million yuan for single entries, providing developers with a platform for continuous improvement through competition.
The developer Beta version of the HarmonyOS Stellar Edition is expected to be released in Q2 of 2024, with a commercial version for consumers set for release in Q4 of 2024.
Industry representatives, including Dai Wei, the Deputy Secretary-General of the China Internet Association; Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of Qihoo 360; and Chen Zhuo, Assistant General Manager of the Cloud QuickPass Department at China UnionPay, have all called for various sectors to embrace and support the construction of the HarmonyOS ecosystem. Pioneering HarmonyOS developers from Peking University’s Third Hospital, Xiaohongshu, Meituan, AutoNavi, and Tongcheng also shared their collaborative innovation stories with HarmonyOS.
Source: Shangyou News, by Ma Liang