This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On August 9, 2019, Huawei unveiled its own operating system, Harmony OS, in a bid to shield the smartphone maker from the escalating US-China trade war.
The move comes months after Huawei was placed on a US trade blacklist that barred American firms from selling tech and software to the Chinese tech company unless they get a license to do so.
That ban has prevented companies like Google from supplying new Huawei devices with its version of Android OS.
Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei's consumer business group, announced the software at a developer conference in Dongguan, China, saying that Harmony is 'completely different from Android and iOS.'
Yu stated that Huawei can start using Harmony in smartphones 'at any time,' but the company is giving 'priority' to Android right now.
Harmony will be deployed first in Huawei's smart watches, smart screens, smart speakers, and other devices, including 'in-vehicle systems.'
The company also said that the operating system will be open sourced.
As the world's second-largest smartphone seller, Huawei has relied on a suite of Google services for its devices, including the Android system and the Google Play app store.
However, the US ban has thrown a wrench into that partnership since its implementation in May.
