Preface:

The competition among mobile phone manufacturers has evolved from a single hardware domain to a battle between systems and ecosystems.

Starting from smartphones, further expanding end-side AI capabilities to broader areas such as smartwatches, automobiles, smart homes, etc., all relies on a unified development ecosystem.

Author | Fang Wensan

Image Source | Network

Native HarmonyOS operating system HarmonyOS 5 officially released

Recently, Huawei officially launched its self-developed HarmonyOS NEXT and named it HarmonyOS 5, marking the most significant upgrade in HarmonyOS's history.

For industry professionals and users, they prefer to call it [Pure HarmonyOS].

The underlying meaning of this term is that HarmonyOS has successfully shed doubts about being a [skinned Android], no longer relying on foreign programming languages and operating system cores;

Instead, it is fully based on the Harmony kernel and its application ecosystem, achieving full independent and controllable control over the underlying architecture and application ecosystem of domestic operating systems for the first time.

[Pure HarmonyOS] is no longer compatible with the Android system, marking Huawei's greater autonomy in technology, establishing a position on par with IOS and Android, becoming the world's third-largest mobile application ecosystem, independent of both.

With the support of Huawei's native HarmonyOS, all terminal devices achieve a unified system kernel, enabling seamless collaboration between devices.

It can be understood that mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and other terminal devices are no longer isolated individuals but display devices in different usage scenarios, carrying the same system ecosystem.

The uniqueness lies in the [native] core feature

Native HarmonyOS integrates AI capabilities into the system's foundational level and utilizes AI technology to empower various subsystems. These system-level AI capabilities enable applications to achieve better [native intelligence].

In addition to the architecture, the core technological innovation lies in achieving true independent controllability.

From the kernel, file system, database, programming language to compiler, and other key parts, Native HarmonyOS truly achieves independent research and development of the entire technology stack.

At the software level, the graphics engine, multimedia engine, scheduling engine, etc., in the Ark Engine play a crucial role in various key aspects of the system.

Promoting deep integration of various modules to become a bridge connecting software, hardware, and cloud services is also the fundamental guarantee for the smooth and stable performance of Native HarmonyOS.

In terms of artificial intelligence, Huawei deeply integrates AI capabilities into the operating system, fully realizing AI-enabled operating system controls;

Simultaneously, it achieves comprehensive AI-enabled controls and AI-enabled controls, open to third-party applications.

In the HarmonyOS NEXT version, Huawei deeply integrates AI technology with the operating system, introducing the new Harmony Intelligence.

This move makes AI functions no longer an add-on component attached to the traditional application layer but achieves a more natural intelligent collaboration between applications.

For example, Harmony Intelligence Assistant Xiao Yi, equipped with the Pangu large model, has significantly improved perception and reasoning abilities, enabling interactive functions in 23 major scenarios with a task success rate exceeding 90%.

This transforms smartphones from monotonous tools into personal assistants that better understand user needs and provide personalized services.

Some media commentators have pointed out that this is a product that combines the advantages of Apple and Android systems and is also the biggest difference between Pure HarmonyOS and Android, iOS.

Meanwhile, industry experts believe that HarmonyOS's system-level interconnectivity broadens the usage scope and scenarios of single applications, which is its core competitiveness.

In the field of native security, HarmonyOS NEXT reconstructs the security system, introducing the StarShield security architecture.

Based on hardware-software collaboration and the Harmony kernel, combined with a pure governance architecture, privacy protection architecture, data security architecture, and distributed security architecture, it aims to provide an ecosystem-pure, privacy-controlled, and highly secure data usage experience.

Able to achieve traffic growth opportunities through new distribution capabilities

From Red Flag Linux to Kylin, from Deepin to HarmonyOS, domestic operating systems have seen significant improvements in technical accumulation and market acceptance.

According to Counterpoint Research data, Huawei's HarmonyOS share in the Chinese market increased from 8% in Q1 2023 to 17% in Q1 2024, while iOS's market share dropped from 20% to 16%.

If a pure HarmonyOS application is developed solely for Huawei phones as an alternative to other systems, its value in attracting new traffic is relatively limited.

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