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
May 19,2020

Cybersecurity researchers on Monday warned of a Trojan malware campaign which is targeting India's co-operative banks using COVID-19 as a bait.

Seqrite, the enterprise arm of IT security firm Quick Heal Technologies, detected the new wave of Adwind Java Remote Access Trojan (RAT) campaign.

Researchers at Seqrite warned that if attackers are successful, they can take over the victim's device to steal sensitive data like SWIFT logins and customer details and move laterally to launch large scale cyberattacks and financial frauds.

According to the researchers, the Java RAT campaign starts with a spear-phishing email which claims to have originated from either the Reserve Bank of India or a nationalised bank.

The content of the email refers to COVID-19 guidelines or a financial transaction, with detailed information in an attachment, which is a zip file containing a JAR based malware.

Upon further investigation, researchers at Seqrite found that the JAR based malware is a Remote Access Trojan that can run on any machine which has Java runtime enabled and hence it can impact a variety of endpoints, irrespective of their base operating system.

Once the RAT is installed, the attacker can take over the victim's device, send commands from a remote machine, and spread laterally in the network.

In addition, this malware can also log keystrokes, capture screenshots, download additional payloads, and extract sensitive user information, Seqrite said, adding that such attack campaigns can effectively jeopardise the privacy and security of sensitive data at the co-operative banks and result in large scale attacks and financial frauds.

To prevent such attacks, users need to exercise ample caution and avoid opening attachments and clicking on web links in unsolicited emails.

Banks should also keep their operating systems updated and have a full-fledged security solution installed on all the devices, Seqrite advised.

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Agencies
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Indian equities will be driven by a host of factors like corporate earnings, coronavirus cases trend and geo-political developments this week, according to analysts.

Market participants will also keenly watch the progress of monsoon, with experts saying that the farm sector revival will play a key role in lifting the coronavirus-hit economy.

"With no major event, the ongoing earnings season and global cues will continue to dictate the market trend. Besides, the progress of monsoon will also be closely watched," Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking, said.

Globally, the rising coronavirus infections and geo-political tensions have created uncertainty on the economic recovery front.

With India's COVID-19 cases fast approaching the 11 lakh mark, the third-highest behind the US and Brazil, and the death toll nearing 27,000, participants are expected to tread cautiously going forward.

At global level, confirmed COVID-19 cases have crossed 1.4 crore and deaths totalled about 6 lakh.

Markets globally will closely follow developments on the trade and political level between the US and China, according to analysts.

"We would continue witnessing stock-specific action as the earnings season unfold. Though the near-term momentum looks positive, we would advise traders to be cautious, given flaring US-China trade relations, persistent rise in virus cases and implementation of fresh lockdowns in parts of the country," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

HDFC Bank will remain in focus on Monday after having announced its June quarter earnings on Saturday.

The lender reported 19.6 per cent rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 6,658.62 crore for April-June 2020; while its income rose to Rs 34,453.28 crore during the quarter.

Other major companies to announce their quarterly results this week are Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Bajaj Auto and ITC.

"Going ahead market participants will closely track the development related to covid vaccine, the rising infection of coronavirus, development on economic activities, corporate earnings and US-China relationship," said Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking.

On weekly basis, the Sensex gathered 425.81 points or 1.16 per cent, and the Nifty gained 133.65 points or 1.24 per cent.

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Agencies
March 18,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 18: To raise awareness about protective measures against coronavirus, Kerala Police released a dance video on the State Police Media Centre's Facebook page promoting the washing of hands, here on Tuesday.

In the video, the police officers were seen dancing to the tunes of Kalakkatha from the Malayalam action-drama thriller Ayyappanum Koshiyum while demonstrating the right technique for washing hands.

The video gained over 27,000 likes and over 2,400 comments and more than 33,000 netizens shared the video.

The video has received a positive response with users congratulating Kerala Police for the initiative.

"Congrats Kerala police media for this kind of initiative," one user commented on Facebook. Another user thanked the police in the comments section saying, "Super super thanks to KL (Kerala) police."

The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in Kerala is 25.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has reached 147, including 122 Indians and 25 foreign nationals, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare earlier today.

Globally, the virus has infected more than 184,000 people and killed more than 7500, as per the data available on the World Health Organisation website.

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