Huawei Technologies has unveiled the beta version of HarmonyOS 6 at its annual developer conference.

The new version includes features such as AI agents and is now available to developers. A consumer launch date has not been announced.

The company also introduced its CloudMatrix 384 AI rack architecture and the HarmonyOS Agent Framework.

This toolkit allows developers to create AI agents without building or training foundation models.

HarmonyOS 5 is currently installed on over 40 device models.

The ecosystem hosts more than 8 million registered developers and 30,000 apps or mini-programs.

Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, admitted that HarmonyOS still lags behind Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in global app support and reach.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Sanctions have accelerated Huawei’s self-reliance strategy

Huawei’s rapid development of HarmonyOS exemplifies how U.S. sanctions have strengthened the company’s technological independence.

Since being blacklisted in 2019, Huawei has replaced approximately 13,000 foreign-made components with domestic alternatives, significantly reducing its dependence on Western technology 1.

This self-reliance strategy has yielded impressive financial results, with Huawei reporting a 10% revenue increase in 2023 (reaching 704.2 billion yuan) and more than doubling its net profit to 87 billion yuan 2.

The company’s pivot from “survival mode” to growth has been evident in its operating system development, with HarmonyOS now powering over 900 million devices globally 3.

HarmonyOS 6’s introduction of AI agents and expanded developer tools represents the latest step in Huawei’s long-term strategy to create a comprehensive software ecosystem independent of U.S. technology.

2️⃣ China’s mobile OS market is experiencing a significant power shift

Recent Huawei developments