Huawei today unveiled its first cellphone equipped with an operating system developed entirely by the Chinese technology company, in a crucial step in its bid to counterbalance the dominance of foreign leaders.
Apple's iOS and Google's Android are currently used in most mobile devices.
Huawei, the target of US sanctions, seeks to reverse the trend with a new series of smart phones equipped with its operating system, HarmonyOS Next.
"Today, the long-awaited Mate 70, the most powerful of all time, is here," announced Richard Yu, president of the company's consumer division, at a group conference, from its headquarters in Shenzhen, in southern China.
This launch is an important milestone for Huawei, which was 'paralyzed' by US sanctions for some time, but whose sales have recovered in the last two years.
"The search in China for a mobile operating system that is viable, scalable and largely outside the control of Western companies has been long," said Paul Triolo, head of China at consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group, quoted by France Presse.
More than three million devices have already been pre-ordered, according to the Chinese group's online sales platform.
"HarmonyOS is the first domestically developed operating system" and represents "a historic milestone in China's efforts to reduce its dependence on Western software," said Gary Ng, economist at Natixis, quoted by AFP.
Unlike previous versions, designed with Android support, HarmonyOS Next requires applications to adapt to the new operating system.
"Chinese companies are ready to invest to contribute to this new Huawei ecosystem, but HarmonyOS's ability to provide the same number of applications and functions to consumers around the world remains a challenge," argued Gary Ng.
Huawei is at the center of the technology war between China and the United States, which claims Chinese equipment can be used for espionage purposes. These accusations are denied by Beijing.
Since 2019, sanctions, which prohibit the group from using North American technologies and components, have hit Huawei's cell phone production hard.
This tug of war is expected to intensify with Donald Trump's return to the White House. The Republican has promised to drastically increase customs duties on products from China in response to what he considers unfair trade practices.
"This trend toward self-sufficiency in the Chinese technology sector has made Huawei's progress possible," said Toby Zhu, an analyst at market research firm Canalys.
For Zhu, the success of this new product will be the main indicator that the group's efforts were worth it.
"This new generation of products cannot miss the target, as expectations are considerable", he added.
Huawei was China's largest cell phone maker until the technological conflict between Beijing and Washington broke out.
In the third quarter of 2024, Huawei represented just 16% of sales in the Chinese market, with less than 11 million units sold, according to Canalys.
But it is not certain that application creators will accept investing in creating new versions compatible with Huawei's system, said Rich Bishop, director of AppInChina, which adapts foreign software for the Chinese market.
To convince them, "Huawei will have to constantly improve its software, provide better quality support to developers, and convince the developer community that it is determined to make a long-term commitment to developing the HarmonyOS ecosystem," said Paul Triolo .
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