Can Huawei's Harmony OS give tough competition to Google’s Android?

Agencies
August 12, 2019

The ongoing US-China trade war has done something good for the deep-pocketed Huawei: Create its own ecosystem where it does not need to look at the US tech giants for powering connected devices.

HarmonyOS -- a new microkernel-based, distributed operating system designed to deliver a cohesive user experience across all devices and scenarios -- is one such move which may threaten the dominance of market leader Android from Google in the near future.

HarmonyOS can work across devices, has cross-platform capabilities and support all scenarios - from smartphones to laptops, from smart TVs to Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

For the layman, the kernel is the core of an operating system and a microkernel is a toned-down version for better efficiency and low latency.

Today, Android has 76 per cent of the mobile OS market, followed by iOS at 22 per cent.

HarmonyOS is completely different from Android and iOS and supports seamless collaboration across devices.

You can develop your apps once, then flexibly deploy them across a range of different devices, says Huawei.

Traditionally, new operating systems are released alongside new types of devices.

With HarmonyOS, app developers won't have to deal with the underlying technology for distributed apps, allowing them to focus on their own individual service logic.

Apps built on HarmonyOS can run on different devices while delivering a seamless, collaborative experience across all scenarios.

It will also reduces the response latency of apps by 25.7 per cent, claims Huawei.

HarmonyOS uses a brand-new microkernel design that features enhanced security and low latency.

It can automatically adapt to different screen layout controls and interactions, and support both drag-and-drop control and preview-oriented visual programming.

This will allow developers to more efficiently build apps that run on multiple devices.

HarmonyOS 1.0 will be first adopted in Huawei's smart screen products, which are due to launch later this year.

Over the next three years, HarmonyOS will be optimized and gradually adopted across a broader range of smart devices, including wearables, HUAWEI Vision, and head units for cars.

To encourage broader adoption, Huawei will release HarmonyOS as an open-source platform globally.

"We believe HarmonyOS will revitalize the industry and enrich the ecosystem," says Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's Consumer Business Group.

However, there will be initial problems with its adoption.

According to Patrick Moorhead, ranked top analyst globally and President of Moor Insights & Strategy, with HarmonyOS, the time and investment to port apps will be huge.

"The hardest part will be linkages to peripherals like cameras, fingerprint readers, microphones, AR sensors, which are all API-based to Android APIs, not Harmony," Moorhead tweeted.

It will not be easy to sell HarmonyOS globally, especially when smartphones aren't the initial focus for Huawei.

"The exception is in Huawei's home market of China, where the company has enough clout to attract developers. But this is a global company with global ambitions.

"Internationally, HarmonyOS will face the same problems that felled Windows Phone and Tizen and other aspiring Android and iOS alternatives: Without apps, no one buys the devices. If no one owns the devices, developers don't bother tailoring apps," said a report on Wired.com.

Whether HarmonyOS will be a great platform for connected devices, only the time will tell but the road ahead is not easy especially when Google is also developing a similar operating system.

Google's Fuchsia, which is in the works is also an open source, microkernel operating system, designed to work across IoT and connected devices.

Google is slowly beginning to open up about its next-generation operating system which will take Huawei HarmonyOS head on.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Claiming that e-commerce giants like Amazon import as much as 80 per cent of the items sold on their platforms, small manufacturers' body has said that their business models do not benefit local industry and are creating jobs of delivery boys only.

"Neither manufacturers nor traders are getting any benefit from the business models of Amazon and Flipkart because they largely import their products from China and Korea and sell here. Nearly 80 per cent of their products are imported," said Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME).

Bhardwaj said that the global e-commerce players generally source and sell products through their own preferred suppliers and as a result a large number of local manufacturers and traders get crowded out.

He listed out deep discounting and buying products from preferred companies as unfair practices.

"Even if they buy products from local suppliers the commission charged is very high," Bhardwaj said adding that the issues related to unfair practices have been raised with Commerce Ministry on multiple occasions.

FISME maintains that the technology-driven retail is way forward and one cannot be oblivious of the benefits it brings to consumers but at the same time the local industry can also not be ignored given its role in job creation.

"If both traders and local manufacturers are crowded out then how would the local industry survive and employment be generated?" asked Bhardwaj.

As Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is currently on his three-day visit to India, the local traders are up in arms against the "unfair" trade practices of the tech giant. Delhi-based Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has launched a countrywide protest against the company and has organised protests across 300 cities.

In a setback to Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart, the fair market watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered probe into the business operations of both the companies on multiple counts including deep-discounts and exclusive tie-up with preferred sellers.

"For the first time some concrete step has been taken against Amazon and Flipkart who are continuously violating the FDI policy in indulging in a vicious racket of controlling and monopolising not only the e-commerce but even the retail trade as well," CAIT National Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said after the CCI order.

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Agencies
January 12,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 12: A recent study has claimed that people end up wasting almost an entire day when they take a vacation.

This can happen while standing in a queue or searching for places to visit, people do not keep a count of the time they have actually utilised during the trip. As a result, they end up doing much lesser activities than they originally had planned.

According to a recent report in Fox News, the study has also shared the fact that people try to justify time waste with planning and scheduling activities whereas the truth is that these things can be done well ahead to save time during the trip.

The average time waste according to the study commissioned by Sykes Holiday Cottages also said the people taking a seven days' trip waste a minimum of 17-and-a-half hours to figure out various factors.

But there are other causes involved as well. When one visits any crowded location, the real-time spent to enjoy the location is lesser than the time spent on reaching and trying to get involved. For instance, if one visits an amusement park, the activities take lesser time than the preparatory and other phases.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Facebook on Monday launched a new consumer marketing campaign in India titled 'More Together'. India is the first country in the Asia Pacific region where such a campaign is being rolled out.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

"India is at the heart of Facebook and one of our focus areas this year is to tell the exciting story of a service that is deeply embedded in the fabric of India," said Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India.

The campaign would have multiple campaigns over the next few weeks in eight languages and the one will be set in the context of Holi.

Facebook in 2019 introduced a new company logo to further distinguish the company from the Facebook app.

The company recently announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as the Marketing Director for India operations, to drive the consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps.

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