Therefore, we are confident that with the global opening-up of the HarmonyOS source code, we will create a promising future together with developers and partners. Open source HarmonyOS simplifies the development process and allows developers to deploy an app once and deploy it across multiple devices. Apps can be easily migrated to HarmonyOS from other operating systems. Compatible with Android app interface, HarmonyOS ensures a smooth transition for both developers and consumers. The User Interface (UI) for specific apps will be determined by their respective developers. Consumers would be pleased with the all-scenario experience delivered by HarmonyOS. We are confident that HarmonyOS will be greatly welcomed by all users.

2. Considering the success of Android and iOS, and the failure of Nokia’s Symbian and Microsoft’s Windows Phone, what are the competitive differentiators that can guarantee HarmonyOS’s success? What pitfalls will it try to avoid?

Huawei is not a new entrant into a mature market. Instead, it is building a future-proof business presence and has been doing this for a decade. In addition, Huawei has actively promoted its all-scenario, intelligent life strategy in recent years and accumulated a vast amount of experience. For example, LiteOS has been used for commercial purposes for five years. We believe that HarmonyOS’s success relies on the following three competitive differentiators: Enable consumers to enjoy the best experience in all scenarios; help device manufacturers stay ahead in the fully-connected, all-scenario, intelligent era that is witnessing the 5G, AI, and IoT boom; and empower developers to reach the maximum amount of users with the lowest possible investment and to swiftly innovate services for all scenarios.

3. When did Huawei start to invest in HarmonyOS research and development? What difficulties has Huawei

encountered?

Huawei’s vision is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. We started doing research and laying the groundwork for HarmonyOS a decade ago and launched the first lightweight IoT OS, LiteOS, in 2015. As early as 2016, Huawei realized that with the rapid development of 4G, 5G, and AI technologies, it would be necessary to reduce the burden of developers and craft a seamless and better experience for consumers across all scenarios. The OS has been in the works since then. Many technological problems arise with the development of a system, such as those with the kernel, driver, IDE, file system, and compiler. The OS launch will also be followed by a series of challenges, such as those with the ecosystem and user experience. HUAWEI has the world’s best engineers, architects, and designers. We are confident about being able to tackle all technological difficulties. Recently, we have pooled nearly 5,000 talented people to optimize HarmonyOS.

4. How will developers be propelled to help develop HarmonyOS? How could a sustainable and integral ecosystem be built?

The source code of HarmonyOS will be open to global developers and Huawei partners. Open source builds trust and invites worldwide developers to contribute to the development of the OS. In addition, open-source can address any potential bottleneck in terms of development capacity by tapping into the global talent pool to build the best OS for the future. HarmonyOS is an open-source platform. Developers can easily adapt their apps to this OS. To keep the core technologies confidential, we will make HarmonyOS open source in phases with the goal of it becoming completely open-source at some point in the future.

Competition and Future

1. Will HarmonyOS compete with Google Fuchsia in the IoT OS field?

HarmonyOS is open source and will be used on more and more intelligent devices. While driving its development,

Huawei will first roll it out to smart devices such as HUAWEI Vision, wearables, and head units. HarmonyOS will provide developers with a powerful development environment and various development suites, and create a fully-connected, all-scenario, intelligent life experience for consumers. The purposes of HarmonyOS and Fuchsia are similar to some extent. We hope that the two will jointly enrich the all-scenario, intelligent life ecosystem in the future.

2. Can EMUI be upgraded to be compatible with HarmonyOS?

Currently, EMUI is based on Android. In the future, there will be a HarmonyOS-based EMUI if there is a reason that is beyond our control.

3. Will HarmonyOS be launched outside of China? What are your thoughts and plans with regard to the market

presence of HarmonyOS outside of China?

HarmonyOS is intended for the global market. It is a new microkernel-based, distributed OS for all scenarios.

4. What does HarmonyOS mean to Huawei? How will it drive social development?

HarmonyOS is a new microkernel-based, distributed OS for all scenarios. It enables consumers to enjoy the fully-connected, best user experience in all scenarios; it helps device manufacturers stay ahead in the fully-connected, all-scenario, the intelligent era that is witnessing the 5G, AI, and IoT boom; and it empowers developers to reach the maximum amount of users with the lowest possible investment and to swiftly innovate services for all scenarios.

5. Does Huawei want to sell Android-based mobile phones while developing its own OS?

For smartphone operating systems, the open Android operating system and the ecosystem around it are still our first choice. We have applied some technological features of HarmonyOS to the latest EMUI 10 so that consumers can experience the leading technologies of HarmonyOS.

6. Any other questions?

HarmonyOS is still being improved. There is a lot more to expect and ponder upon. Stay tuned!