Huawei set a deadline to update its devices to HarmonyOS last June. Why hasn’t it reached your mobile? Is it compatible with the system? When should you receive the update? These are the questions that we bring to answer in these lines.
The salvation of the brand after being unable to continue using Android and GMS (Google Mobile Services) is already on the market and in China there are some Huawei smartphones that can already test the beta of the software. They are not much, but soon many more will follow both in the eastern country and in the rest of the regions where Huawei tries to stay afloat.
What is HarmonyOS based on?
Linux is the foundation for Android and, precisely to differentiate itself from Google’s software, Huawei has opted for a different foundation for HarmonyOS . Differentiation is at the center of its development as the Chinese brand has developed a microkernel smaller in size than a monolithic kernel (such as Linux) that implies the need for a tiny part of code to run the operating system. The key is that the system services run in the user space, and not in this kernel of the operating system.
This peculiarity is what allows the system to work equally on any type of device, be it a mobile phone, a TV, a car or a refrigerator. The intention of the brand is to create multi-device software that can become the nerve center of the Internet of Things, although it is to be imagined that this strategy will not be followed equally in all markets. In this way, services can be seamlessly transferred to a suitable device that offers a smooth experience in all scenarios.
Requirements to use this operating system
The Beta version for compatible brand phones has been available to developers since December last year. Thanks to this, anyone can see all the open source code and related materials of the operating system. The only thing you need to test the software is to comply with all the corresponding hardware parameters to proceed to install it.
Huawei claims that this software is lightweight and capable of running on devices with more restrained features than what we’re used to. Regarding the hardware requirements, Wang Chenglu, president of Huawei’s Software Department, stated during the presentation of version 2.0 of the system that the installation of HarmonyOS requires only 128 KB of RAM.
The first open source version supports running on 128KB ~ 128MB devices. In April 2021, this open source will become available for devices with memory from 128 MB to 4 GB. And as of October 2021, it is supposed to be available for all devices above 4GB.
In addition, as we have already said, the micronúcelo is different from the one used by Google, but the HarmonyOS kernel is based on Linux, which means that Huawei has managed to make the operating system capable of running Android applications without trouble. If we look to the future, the intention of the firm is that it can also work with HTML5 applications.
Mobile phones compatible with Huawei software
On December 16, 2020, internal beta testing of HarmonyOS 2.0 began, although it was not until April 21, 2021, that the first open beta phase for software developers began. Already on May 9, 2021, the second open beta phase of HarmonyOS 2.0 began, ready to be applied in the first compatible mobiles.
After the launch of HarmonyOS 2.0 mobile developer beta, Huawei began recruiting users to test the software on the Huawei P40 and Mate 30, the current top of the range of the firm, but the manufacturer has decided to update its older devices with its own system. Throughout this 2021. In fact, Huawei will directly update the phones that did not even receive EMUI 11 or Magic UI 4 to this new software.
Knowing this, we list all the models confirmed by the brand to update to the latest version of HarmonyOS during the next few months:
- Huawei Mate X2
- Huawei Mate 40
- Huawei Mate 40 Pro
- Huawei Mate 40 Pro +
- Huawei Mate 40 RS Porsche Design
- Huawei Mate 40E
- Huawei Mate X2
- Huawei P40
- Huawei P40 4G
- Huawei P40 Pro
- Huawei P40 Pro Plus
- Huawei Mate 30 Pro 4G
- Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
- Huawei Mate 30E Pro 5G
- Huawei Mate 30 RS Porsche Design
- Huawei Mate 30 4G
- Huawei Mate 30 5G
- Huawei Mate Xs
- Huawei Mate 20
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro
- Huawei Mate 20 RS Porsche Design
- Huawei Nova 7 SE 5G
- Huawei Nova 8
- Huawei Nova 8 Pro
- Huawei Nova 8 Pro 4G
- Huawei Nova 7 5G
- Huawei Nova 7 Pro 5G
- Huawei Nova 6
- Huawei Nova 6 5G
- Huawei Nova 6 SE
- Huawei P30
- Huawei Mate 20 X 4G
- Huawei Mate 20 X 5G
- Huawei Mate X
- Huawei P30 Pro
- Huawei Nova 5 Pro
- Huawei Enjoy 20 Pro 5G
- Huawei Enjoy Z 5G
- Huawei Enjoy 20 Plus 5G
- Huawei Mate 10
- Huawei Mate 10 Pro
- Huawei Mate 10 Porsche Design
- Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design
- Huawei P20 Pro
- Huawei P20
- Huawei Nova 4
- Huawei Nova 3
- Huawei Nova 5i Pro
- Huawei Nova 5z
- Huawei Nova 5
- Huawei Nova 4e
- Huawei Enjoy 9S
- Huawei Nova 5i
- Huawei Enjoy 10 Plus
- Huawei Mate 9
- Huawei Mate 9 Pro
- Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design
- Huawei P10
- Huawei P10 Plus
- Huawei Nova 2s
- Huawei Enjoy 10
- Huawei Enjoy 10s
- Huawei Enjoy 9 Plus
- Huawei Nova 3i
And what about Honor phones?
Although Honor is no longer part of the brand’s conglomerate and its new models already work with Android and GMS at full capacity, it would still be necessary to update the models marketed over the last few weeks. The firm ensures that the following Honor phones will also receive HarmonyOS 2.0 this year:
- Honor 30
- Honor 30 Pro
- Honor 30 Pro +
- Honor 30S
- Honor V30
- Honor V30 Pro
- Honor V20
- Honor V20 Moschino Edition
- Honor Magic 2
- Honor 20
- Honor 20 Pro
- Honor X10
- Honor X10 Max
- Honor Play 4 Pro
- Honor 30 Youth Edition
- Honor Play 4
- Honor V10
- Honor 10
- Honor Play
- Honor 20S
- Honor 9X
- Honor 9X Pro
- Honor 8X
- Honor 10 Youth Edition
- Honor 20i
- Honor 9
- Honor V9
- Honor Play 3
- Honor Note 10
When can I try it on my mobile?
At the event held in April 2021, where the news of the new version of the software were announced, it was announced that HarmonyOS 2.0 would reach 300 million devices in 2021. Huawei aimed to install the system on most models before June of this year, but, as you can see, this has not been fulfilled.
Also, keep in mind that we are always talking about the Chinese version of the ROM. In this vein, HarmonyOS is first being tested and implemented in the Chinese market to later be distributed worldwide. Huawei’s official account has revealed that we will not have any more news about it until the end of this year, but it is possible that the manufacturer could begin beta testing of HarmonyOS for global devices before December 2021.
