Interview with Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei: HarmonyOS will catch up with iOS & Android in "300 years"

HarmonyOS will not be challenging iOS or Android anytime soon, according to Huawei CEO Ren Zhengei. In a wide-ranging interview with Dragon magazine published by Gansu Academy of Social Sciences, Zhengfei jokingly said that it would take Huawei's OS "no more than 300 years" to overtake its established American competitors.

Zhengei added that he believed many people would not buy a smartphone running HarmonyOS instead of Android. Hence, Huawei has released the likes of the P40 Pro running Android rather than HarmonyOS, despite ongoing US sanctions preventing it from releasing pre-installing Google apps and services.

Nonetheless, Zhengfei remarked that "the US will always be our good friend", with Huawei having no plans to abandon its US suppliers. On the contrary, Zhengfei announced that Huawei spent 70% more procuring US parts in 2019 than it had in 2018.

In short, Huawei will continue to build its smartphones with US parts for the foreseeable. Likewise, expect Huawei to release its flagship Mate and P series running Android, too.