Huawei Launches HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta for Smartphones

HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta for Smartphones was officially released at HUAWEI Developer Day Beijing 2020, representing a milestone in the construction of the all-encompassing HarmonyOS ecosystem. Smartphone app developers with interest in the 2.0 beta can apply for it on the HUAWEI Developer official website.

Comprehensive HarmonyOS system capabilities, a multitude of APIs, and powerful tools such as the optimized DevEco Studio simulator, have all been made publicly available, facilitating efficient HarmonyOS-compatible smartphone app development. Huawei hopes to welcome more partners to the ecosystem, and give users access to the full range of benefits offered by Seamless AI Life, with smart services that interact with, entertain and educate them in new and profound ways, at home, in the gym and in the office, on the go and on the road.

Wang Chenglu, President of Huawei's Consumer Business Group Software Engineering Department, remarked, "HarmonyOS is a true milestone, as it has redefined how people and devices interact with each other in every facet of daily life. Devices and services are no longer limited to specific life scenarios, now that users can freely customize how their devices work to account for any setting. HarmonyOS will create 'super devices' that come with more enriching apps than ever, as well as life-altering 'super services'."

HarmonyOS and its underlying distributed technology are designed for this futuristic Internet of Everything paradigm. By helping create ‘super devices’, which are formed by pooling software and hardware resources from previously physically-independent devices, the system has been making the lofty ambitions in Seamless AI Life a full-blown reality. HarmonyOS helps ensure that all devices are responsive to the user's every whim, and equipped to handle any conceivable usage scenario.

HarmonyOS encourages all developers to release their imagination and come up with promising ideas on how to create Seamless AI Life services for all users. Therefore it's no small wonder that over 120 mainstream app builders, including JD.com, China UnionPay, Youku Video and iFlytek, have opted to make HarmonyOS their system of choice.

Today's vast array of IoT devices share little in common, as they can be subdivided into different device types and operating systems. This reality has hindered traditional app development, as apps needed be adapted to fit all of the different screen sizes and systems prior to release. Huawei has made IoT fragmentation a thing of the past, by opening all of HarmonyOS's frameworks and platform toolchains to developers. Over 15,000 APIs have now been made available, including distributed system services, software and hardware abilities. In doing so, HarmonyOS aims to help create innovative and competitive apps that are compatible with all device types and oriented toward all usage scenarios, with as much ease as experienced in the independent-device app development era. 

HarmonyOS will also transform the business of hardware vendors, by helping them turn products into services. Software innovation will be channeled to bring about differentiated and flexible hardware usage. Hardware resources from all connected devices will be pooled, to enable partners to extract more value by selling services on an ongoing basis, rather than being limited to the one-time product sale. Enticed by this promising new model, more than 20 hardware vendors have become a part of the HarmonyOS ecosystem.