Huawei is scheduled to release HarmonyOS next in September 2024. Dropping support for Android apps

According to a new leak, Huawei may start rolling out its own HarmonyOS Next operating system in September 2024. The new OS is said to be built on the Hongmeng kernel and system apps, and does not rely on Google’s Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code. This change will result in incompatibility of all Android applications running on Huawei devices. However, the Chinese smartphone maker is preparing for this contingency. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that as many as 4,000 applications compatible with the new OS are ready for implementation.

According to a post by tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Huawei has finalized the launch date of its in-house OS. The announcement 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 on offer. Wait for the real test.”

Based on the leaks, it seems that Huawei is not planning to phase out its devices and will instead roll out Android-less HarmonyOS Next to all of its devices together. Interestingly, the Huawei Mate 70 series is also expected in September, and could arrive with a new operating system out of the box.

Huawei showed off HarmonyOS Next last year in a video posted on YouTube. Visually, it doesn’t seem much different from Android, however the app layout, widgets, as well as the notification bar and control center have significant differences and follow the design language of previous iterations of HarmonyOS.

One significant problem that 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 markets in APK format. Instead, HarmonyOS Next apps will reportedly support the native HAP format.

According to a report by Gizmochine, the Chinese smartphone maker aims to have 5,000 apps ready on its market by the time the new OS update hits the first batch of users. The company also has a long-term vision of having 500,000 apps.