Huawei releases homegrown HarmonyOS NEXT operating system

Chinese tech giant Huawei on Tuesday released HarmonyOS NEXT, its self-developed operating system built independent of Android architecture.

The launch event, which attracted nearly 5,000 attendees in Shenzhen, where the company is based, marks another milestone for Huawei since Washington put it on the "Entity List" in 2019, barring it from doing business with U.S. firms including Google, which provides Android.

The event marked the beginning of the official public testing phase of China's first homegrown mobile operating system, representing a significant breakthrough in the country's information technology industry.

Previous versions of HarmonyOS still used some Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code in their system base, necessitating compatibility with certain Android applications.

HarmonyOS NEXT, the self-developed fifth iteration of HarmonyOS, has achieved significant improvements in system fluency, performance, and security features, while also ensuring the independence of the homegrown operating system.

The system has been installed on over one billion devices, said Yu Chengdong, Huawei's executive director.

"In fact, our development team has gone through the path that others have gone through for 20 or 30 years in just 10 years. The battery life, security and privacy protection functions of the phone are very strong. The applications' version is being developed iteratively everyday, and the update schedule is very, very fast. I estimate another two or three months may be enough time for our whole ecosystem to mature,” Yu said.

Over 15,000 native HarmonyOS applications and meta-services have been launched, covering 18 industries, with general office applications serving more than 38 million enterprises nationwide.

HarmonyOS NEXT has reduced the difficulty and cost of adopting the new system, improved fluency by 30 percent, and many applications are being updated with new versions every day.

HarmonyOS is an open-source operating system designed for various devices and scenarios, including intelligent screens, tablets, wearables and cars. It was first launched in August 2019 and has replaced Apple's iOS to become the second-largest mobile operating system on the Chinese market after Google’s Android.

Huawei releases homegrown HarmonyOS NEXT operating system

Foreign ministers from eight Arab and Islamic countries have condemned in the strongest terms recent "illegal" Israeli decisions and measures aimed at entrenching settlement activity and Israeli control in the West Bank.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia reaffirmed their position that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory.

They warned against the continued "expansionist Israeli policies" and illegal measures pursued by the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank, voicing "absolute rejection of these illegal actions."

The ministers said Israeli measures constitute a blatant violation of international law and undermine the two-state solution, adding that such actions also undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region.

The statement urged the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities to compel Israel to halt its dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday, Israel's security cabinet approved several decisions aimed at altering the legal and civil status of the West Bank and strengthening Israeli control over the territory.

Among the controversial measures approved, the cabinet decided to repeal a law banning land sales to Jews, to remove the requirement for special transaction permits, and to revive a state land acquisition committee that had been inactive for about two decades.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War. The settlements it has built there and its ongoing military occupation are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

Palestinian officials have repeatedly warned that measures expanding settlements and extending Israeli civilian authority in the West Bank undermine prospects for establishing an independent Palestinian state.

Arab, Islamic countries condemn Israeli measures to deepen control in West Bank