BUSINESS

Huawei’s HarmonyOS Hits 8 Million Developers in Ecosystem Independence Drive

Published: Jun. 21, 2025 3:12 a.m. GMT+8

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Huawei initiated the HarmonyOS project in 2015, originally targeting Internet of Things (IoT) applications like autonomous driving and industrial automation

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd,’s HarmonyOS has crossed a key threshold, surpassing 8 million registered developers, as the Chinese tech giant accelerates push to establish a self-sufficient software ecosystem to rival Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.

At Huawei’s annual developer conference on Friday, Yu Chengdong, chairman of the firm’s consumer business, disclosed that more than 30,000 apps are now available on the HarmonyOS platform, which runs on over 40 of the company’s devices.

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HarmonyOS now has over 8 million registered developers, 30,000 apps, and supports 40+ Huawei devices; top 5,000 apps cover 99.9% of common use cases.
HarmonyOS global smartphone market share grew from 2% (Q1 2023) to 4% (Q4 2024); in China, it surpassed iOS in shipments in early 2024.
Huawei and Xiaomi led China’s smartphone market in Q1 2025 with 19% share each; Apple held 15%, while HarmonyOS faces challenges expanding its app ecosystem.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a Chinese tech giant developing its own software ecosystem, HarmonyOS, to rival Google's Android and Apple's iOS. Sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019, Huawei has pushed for technological independence. HarmonyOS now has over 8 million developers and runs on 40+ devices. It has surpassed iOS in China's smartphone market share.

Google: Following U.S. government sanctions in 2019, Huawei's access to Google's core mobile services was severed. This led Huawei to accelerate its efforts to establish HarmonyOS as a self-sufficient software ecosystem, aiming to rival Google's Android and Apple's iOS.

Apple Inc.: Apple Inc.'s iOS is a rival to Huawei's HarmonyOS, which aims to establish a self-sufficient software ecosystem. While iOS holds 22% of the global smartphone market share, HarmonyOS has surpassed it in shipments within China as of Q1 2024. Huawei's fully self-contained HarmonyOS NEXT echoes Apple's proprietary approach. Apple followed Huawei in China's smartphone market with 15% market share in Q1 2025.

Qualcomm: The article states that intensified US sanctions in May 2020 restricted Huawei's access to 5G chips, leading them to rely on 4G Qualcomm chips. This reliance caused a drop in Huawei's smartphone sales and made it less appealing to developers.

Xiaomi: Xiaomi tied with Huawei for leadership in China's smartphone market, holding a 19% market share in the first quarter of 2025.

Oppo: Oppo is mentioned as a competitor in China's smartphone market. In the first quarter of 2025, Oppo held a 15% market share, tying with Apple and placing it behind Huawei and Xiaomi, but ahead of Vivo and Honor.

Vivo: Vivo is mentioned as one of the smartphone brands in the Chinese market. In the first quarter of 2025, Vivo held a 14% market share in China, following Huawei and Xiaomi (tied at 19%), Apple (15%), and Oppo (15%).

Honor: Honor is mentioned as a competitor in China's smartphone market, holding a 13% market share in the first quarter of 2025. This places Honor behind Huawei, Xiaomi, Apple, Oppo, and Vivo in that period.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2015：: Huawei initiated the HarmonyOS project, originally targeting IoT applications.

May 2019：: U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei, which accelerated HarmonyOS's commercial rollout.

August 2019：: Huawei launched HarmonyOS 1.0, initially powering its smart TV.

End of 2019：: Huawei assembled more than 2,000 researchers globally to adapt HarmonyOS for smartphones.

May 2020：: Intensified U.S. sanctions further restricted Huawei’s access to 5G chips.

Mid-2020：: Huawei completed adapting HarmonyOS for use on smartphones, nine months after the end of 2019.

From 2020：: Early HarmonyOS versions were built on a dual framework compatible with Android applications.

First quarter of 2023：: HarmonyOS had a 2% global smartphone market share.

2024：: Huawei returned to the market with high-end smartphones powered by in-house chips and fully severed ties with Android.

First quarter of 2024：: HarmonyOS overtook iOS in shipments in China.

By the fourth quarter of 2024：: HarmonyOS increased global smartphone market share to 4%. Android retained 74%, iOS held 22%.

October 2024：: Huawei launched HarmonyOS NEXT, its first fully self-contained mobile OS, free from Android dependencies.

First quarter of 2025：: Huawei regained leadership in China’s smartphone market with 19% share, tied with Xiaomi.

June 20, 2025：: At Huawei's developer conference, Yu Chengdong announced HarmonyOS surpassed 8 million registered developers and over 30,000 apps were available.