Huawei to Drop Android Apps Support With HarmonyOS Next Launch This Year

Huawei could begin rolling out its in-house operating system HarmonyOS Next in September 2024, as per a new leak. The new OS is said to be built on Hongmeng kernel and system applications, and does not rely on Google’s Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code. This shift will result in all Android apps running on Huawei devices being incompatible. However, the Chinese smartphone maker is preparing for this contingency. It confirmed earlier this year that as many as 4,000 apps compatible with the new OS were ready to be deployed.

According to a post by tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Huawei has finalised a rollout date for its in-house OS. The post stated (translated by Google), “HarmonyOS NEXT is internally scheduled for September. In the second half of the year, candy bar flagships, foldable flagships, mid-range phones, tablets, watches, etc. are all arranged. Wait for the actual test.”

Based on the leak, it appears Huawei is not planning a phased transition of its devices and instead will be rolling out the Android-free HarmonyOS Next to all of its devices together. Interestingly, the Huawei Mate 70 series is also expected to be launched in September, and it might arrive with the new operating system out-of-the-box.

Huawei showed off the HarmonyOS Next last year in a video posted on YouTube. Visually, it does not appear vastly different from Android, however, app arrangements, widgets, as well as the notification bar and control centre have significant differences, and follow the design language of previous iterations of HarmonyOS.

One significant issue Huawei smartphone users might face is the lack of support for Android apps. This would not only include apps downloaded from the official Play Store but also those downloaded from third-party marketplaces in the APK format. Instead, HarmonyOS Next apps will reportedly support its native HAP format.

As per a report by Gizmochina, the Chinese smartphone maker aims to ready 5,000 apps in its marketplace by the time the new OS update reaches the first batch of users. The company also has a long-term vision of having 500,000 apps.