Huawei says it's building HarmonyOS in case "all Chinese companies cannot use the Google ecosystem"

In an interview, Huawei’s consumer business CEO Richard Yu has confirmed that the current round of sanctions by the US has caused a major internal crisis in the company.

The first round, which banned the company from using the Google Play Store and Google Play Services, did not have a major impact but motivated the company to develop its ecology of apps and services.  The current round, which is cutting off the supply of processors and other chips and which  Richard Yu called “very unreasonable” and “disastrous”, has been much more impactful and has caused the company to enter “a period of crisis.”

Yu said Huawei has already invested hundred million Yuan into developing HarmonyOS, and said they were not doing the work just for themselves.

Richard Yu said: “If it is blocked in the future so that all Chinese companies cannot use the Google ecosystem, our ecosystem can be sold globally and build an ecosystem that replaces Google.”

Yu said HarmonyOS has reached 70% – 80% of the level of Android, but it is improving every day, every week, and every month.

The company recently announced HMS Core 5.0, which offers services in seven areas, including App Services, Graphics, Media, AI, Smart Device, Security, and System.

The company is expected to launch HarmonyOS 2.0 at their 2020 HDC Developers Conference on September 10, and show off new products, including possible phones, running the OS and is expected to release their first smartphones with HarmonyOS next year.

via MyFixGuide