Huawei officially announces a release for HarmonyOS, starting with the Mate X2

Following many months' worth of development, Huawei has announced that it is finally ready to start the roll-out for HarmonyOS. This software is intended for use on its smartphones, as well as its tablets, very possibly its wearables and perhaps even some of its laptops. It has been implemented as an alternative to Android with Google Mobile Services (GMS), a system it remains prohibited from using thanks to its placement on the US' Entity List.

Huawei has asserted that Harmony is a "brand-new" OS it has built from the ground up out of necessity. However, some independent analysis has found it is based on AOSP, and may thus be not such a huge departure from its existing EMUI skin for Android after all.

In any case, it may still be interesting to see how it will be implemented in the Mate X2. This premium phablet is Huawei's first device to use an inward-folding design, and will also now be the first to receive the major update that replaces its current build of EMUI 11 without GMS with HarmonyOS.

Meanwhile, the upcoming P50 series is still projected to be the first few devices to ship with the new software out of the box. Huawei has reportedly produced several betas of HarmonyOS for the future flagships, which are also now expected to launch with an updated lozenge-shaped rear camera hump that might feature the new, ground-breaking Sony IMX 800 besides.

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