Huawei Technologies showcased significant strides in technology at its three-day developer conference in Dongguan, highlighting achievements from operating systems to artificial intelligence that have positioned the company competitively against Western counterparts.
Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, emphasized the rapid progress of HarmonyOS, Huawei’s proprietary operating system now integrated into over 900 million devices. Speaking at the conference, Yu remarked on Huawei’s decade-long journey to develop an independent operating system, achieving in 10 years what Europe and the United States accomplished over 30 years.
“Harmony has made major breakthroughs,” Yu affirmed. “In a decade, we’ve achieved what took our European and American counterparts more than three decades to build in terms of core technology for an independent OS.”
HarmonyOS was launched in 2019 after U.S. technology restrictions severed Huawei’s access to Google support for Android, forcing the company to innovate its software ecosystem.
Yu also highlighted Huawei’s Ascend AI infrastructure, now ranking second globally after Nvidia in AI chip dominance. He underscored that advancements in operating systems and software, traditionally dominated by the West, have provided Huawei with opportunities to lead in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT).
The resurgence of Huawei’s smartphone business was noted, particularly since the launch of the Mate 60 featuring an enhanced domestically-produced chip. Sales of HarmonyOS-equipped smartphones surged by 68% in the first five months of the year, Yu reported.
In a significant milestone, Huawei’s HarmonyOS surpassed Apple’s iOS in the first quarter of 2024 to become China’s second best-selling mobile operating system with a 17% market share, according to research firm Counterpoint.
The developments underscore Huawei’s determination to innovate and expand its technological footprint despite international challenges and sanctions.
