Huawei Plans Global Expansion of HarmonyOS

Huawei is preparing to expand HarmonyOS into international markets, marking a significant step in the company’s effort to build an ecosystem that can compete beyond China. At the 2026 HarmonyOS Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen, Huawei rotating chairman Xu Zhijun said the company plans to begin pilot programmes in selected countries and regions before considering a broader global rollout.

The move reflects Huawei’s long-term strategy of reducing its dependence on foreign technology. HarmonyOS became especially important after U.S. restrictions limited Huawei’s access to Google’s mobile services. Since then, the company has invested heavily in developing its own operating system, developer ecosystem and software infrastructure. Huawei now wants to turn that domestic progress into an international platform capable of competing with the established Android and iOS ecosystems.

Huawei says the HarmonyOS ecosystem is growing rapidly. More than 80 million devices were already running HarmonyOS 6 as of August 20, with the company targeting more than 100 million devices by the end of 2026. It also reported more than 100,000 native HarmonyOS applications, while the broader number of applications available on HarmonyOS smartphones has surpassed 400,000.

However, taking HarmonyOS global will be considerably more difficult than expanding it within China. Huawei must convince international developers to create applications for the platform and ensure that essential services such as banking, government applications, payments and social media work reliably. Android and iOS already have enormous global developer ecosystems, meaning Huawei will need strong incentives and a compelling user experience to persuade consumers and developers to switch.

Huawei is also positioning HarmonyOS as more than a smartphone operating system. The company wants it to connect phones, PCs, vehicles and other smart devices, while increasingly integrating artificial intelligence and AI agents into the platform. If Huawei succeeds, HarmonyOS could become one of the world’s most significant alternatives to the dominant mobile operating systems, potentially creating a more divided global software market.