Huawei’s HarmonyOS crosses ‘survival line’ as user base hits 27 million

HarmonyOS, Huawei Technologies’ self-developed operating system, has crossed the threshold of 27 million users, a sign that the company’s efforts to take on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are paying off.\nIn announcing the user numbers for its latest iterations – HarmonyOS 5 and HarmonyOS 6 – the Shenzhen-based tech giant referred to the milestone as a “survival line” for the company.\nThe platform also boasted an ecosystem of over 10 million developers. User engagement crossed milestones, too, with more than 100,000 new devices activated on a daily basis, as well as over 88 million daily downloads and updates recorded for applications, according to the company.\nThe latest figures, which come six years after the company first launched the operating system to counter Washington’s sanctions on its access to Android, reflected how Huawei’s efforts to develop an alternative for the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers were paying off.\nHuawei has been transitioning its own devices to the operating system since 2021, ramping up efforts after the US placed the company on its Entity List in 2019 over national security concerns. The privately held firm has since expanded HarmonyOS beyond smartphones and tablets.\n\nHarmonyOS 6, the latest iteration, was initially made available to developers in June and released to Chinese consumers in October. That came roughly a year after it launched HarmonyOS 5 in late 2024.\nNotably, the latest version features a new function similar to Apple’s AirDrop, which enables direct file transfers between Huawei and Apple devices for the first time.\nHarmonyOS accounted for 17 per cent of China’s smartphone operating systems in the second quarter of the year, ahead of iOS’s 16 per cent, maintaining its lead over Apple for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to data released by Counterpoint Research in September.\nHarmonyOS was China’s second-largest mobile operating system behind Android, which had a dominant 66 per cent share in the quarter, according to Counterpoint.\nThe increasing adoption of HarmonyOS was largely attributed to Huawei’s rebound in the domestic smartphone market.\nAccording to the latest data from research firm BCI, Huawei reclaimed its spot as China’s top smartphone vendor in the last week of November and first week of December, overtaking Apple, following the launch of its flagship Mate 80 series.\nThe Mate 80 series, including the basic Mate 80, Mate 80 Pro, Mate 80 Pro Max and Mate 80 RS models, as well as the foldable Mate X7, was released in late November.\n