Huawei’s homegrown operating system, HarmonyOS, is seeing swift growth in China. Launched in 2019 as an alternative to Android following U.S. sanctions that limited access to Google’s mobile OS, HarmonyOS now boasts the second-largest market share in China at 17%.
This surpasses Apple’s iOS, which holds a 16% share, while Google’s Android remains the leader with a 68% share. Huawei’s rapid rise in its home market seems to be prompting a shift in its strategy toward app developers.
Potential Commission Fee
Currently, Huawei does not charge developers for using its HarmonyOS platform. However, a new Bloomberg report suggests that the company is contemplating a 20% commission fee on app revenue.
Charging developers a commission is a common industry practice. Companies like Apple and Google charge between 15% and 30%. Huawei has not yet made an official statement regarding this potential change.
Hardware-Driven Success
Huawei’s recent achievements have been more hardware-focused than software-centric. The company’s smartphone business has seen significant growth since the launch of the Mate 60 series last year, which featured in-house Kirin chips with 5G capabilities despite ongoing U.S. sanctions.
Their latest flagship, the Pura 70 series, also quickly sold out upon its April release. This resurgence appears to be impacting Apple’s market share in China, according to market research data. Looking ahead, Huawei is anticipated to unveil the Mate 70 between September and October.
HarmonyOS NEXT
The Mate 70 is expected to be the first Huawei phone to feature the stable version of HarmonyOS NEXT, which will completely drop support for Android apps. HarmonyOS NEXT is currently in the testing phase, with recent reports indicating that the Developer Preview 2 offers better animation effects than Android.
It remains to be seen whether Huawei will officially implement the rumored commission fee and how developers will react to this shift in the HarmonyOS ecosystem.
