Huawei Technologies Co has released an upgraded version of its own operating system, as the Chinese telecommunications giant pushes forward with its Android replacement amid ongoing US sanctions.
HarmonyOS 3, Huawei's third-generation operating system, is designed to provide a more seamless experience across devices, including smartphones, tablets, printers, cars and smart home devices such as televisions, company representatives said at an online launch event on Wednesday.
Huawei also announced the launch of Petal Chuxing, a ride-hailing platform that pulls together third-party service providers. Running on HarmonyOS 3, the new app is compatible with several Huawei devices, including smartphones, watches and tablets, the company said.
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While Huawei said that Petal Chuxing "does not aim to compete with anyone", the app marks the company's entrance into a field led by Didi Chuxing, which was recently fined US$1.2 billion by Chinese regulators following a year-long cybersecurity investigation.
Pedestrians walks past a Huawei flagship store in Shanghai. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Pedestrians walks past a Huawei flagship store in Shanghai. Photo: Bloomberg>
Huawei's decision to carry on with its self-developed operating system and introduce a ride-hailing service comes as the company struggles to revive its consumer business, which has been crippled by US sanctions.
Huawei debuted the original HarmonyOS in August 2019, three months after the firm was added to Washington's trade blacklist, preventing it from buying software, chips and other technologies from American companies. Soon after the ban was announced, Google stopped providing its suite of mobile software services to Huawei.
Without access to Google apps and advanced chips made with US technologies, global sales of Huawei smartphones nosedived, forcing the Shenzhen-based giant to explore alternative business opportunities, such as convincing other hardware makers to adopt HarmonyOS.
The first device to launch with HarmonyOS was a smart television unveiled in August 2019 by Huawei's then-subsidiary Honor.
HarmonyOS 2.0, Huawei's second-generation operating system, was adopted by the firm's smartphones last year, while the car-specific HarmonyOS Smart Cockpit can be found on an electric vehicle launched in China earlier this year, co-developed with domestic automotive brand Seres.