Huawei announced that the HarmonyOS 2.0 system will be officially released to the world on June 2 this year. On the same day, a short video was posted on Huawei’s Weibo account. There are comments from users below. They are looking forward to domestic operations. The arrival of the system.
Hongmeng is the Chinese imagination of the initial state of space and time. It is often used to describe the chaotic state of the universe before it formed. “Since Pangu broke the Hongmeng and developed from the clear to the world” after Hongmeng was first developed, the world became clearer and clearer. The word was used to name the self-developed operating system, and Huawei’s expectations came to light.
Since Harmony OS 2.0 developer Beta version opened for application, more than 300,000 ordinary consumers have received Hongmeng’s upgrade. From June 2nd, most of Huawei’s mobile phone models can be upgraded to the Hongmeng system with one click. Li Wei (a pseudonym) from Huawei’s Consumer Business Group told reporters that he wanted to release it earlier because he had to wait for the expiration of the relevant agreement with Google to postpone the date.
Huawei officially stated that Hongmeng’s goal this year is to carry 300 million terminals. This is not the same as Android’s 2 billion users. Li Wei said that Huawei is trying its best to attract the ecosystem and hopes that hardware and application developers can support Hongmeng.
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The reporter experienced the Beta3 of Hongmeng 2.0 and found that the interface design framework is similar to that of Android and iOS. The background wall has dark lines, which is equivalent to the mark of the Beta version. The feature control and switching are smooth. The App in the Huawei AppGallery can cover daily applications. , Users no longer need to upgrade the App.
Technically, Hongmeng uses Google’s open-source technology in the underlying architecture, but it is still independent. In terms of positioning, Harmony OS is not only equipped with mobile phones, but also an operating system that focuses on the Internet of Things and points to the era of the Internet of Everything. Commercially, Harmony OS is an intruder.
It was born under the dominance of Google and Apple. There were Microsoft, Samsung, and Nokia before, and there were also unsuccessful cases of BAT in China. When it first landed, Chinese technology companies were trying to get rid of the restrictions of overseas giants, and Harmony OS provided such an opportunity at the software level.
Wang Yunhou, deputy general manager of CCID Consulting Software and Information Service Industry Research Center, believes that it is far more difficult for Hongmeng to establish an ecosystem than Google at the beginning, and it even needs explosive growth to quickly occupy a certain share before it is possible. stay alive.
Hongmeng has two tough battles before Hongmeng. The first is the Internet of Things equipment. Li Wei said that the hardware currently implemented includes watches and large screens. In addition, Huawei has also locked six major areas: smart home, sports and health, smart travel, smart office, Audio-visual entertainment, education and care.
The second is to attract mobile phone manufacturers. Smartphones integrate almost all services and are an important window for the outside world to experience Hongmeng. The promotion of Hongmeng in domestic mobile phones has not yet been successfully launched. The reporter asked Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Meizu, and Realme manufacturers about whether to carry Hongmeng. As of press time, they have not yet received a clear answer. According to public information, only Meizu’s smart hardware is equipped with Hongmeng.
A person from a domestic mobile phone manufacturer told reporters that the manufacturers saw some potential risks, and they were holding a wait-and-see attitude, and even some resistance. Hongmeng was invented, the chaos is unknown. In the time and space of business, can Hongmeng become the third-largest operating system in the world?
Huawei’s Considerations
Li Wei said that Huawei officially established the Hongmeng project in October 2016. At that time, Google and Apple’s operating systems also set up next-generation operating systems, although it is difficult to find them from public information. However, there is a consensus in the industry that the growth dividend of smartphones has peaked, and the new communication form facing the future will also bring about changes in the operating system.
Li Wei said that the first thing Huawei internally discussed was whether to build an Android-like mobile phone system. This is not technically difficult, but it is difficult to establish an ecosystem, especially when the mobile phone has no dividend value. In 2016, data such as monthly active users of mobile Internet, growth of mobile phone devices, usage time of mobile apps, and user experience of a single device are all reaching their peaks and are showing a downward trend.
Li Wei said that when the mobile phone dividend is peaking and iOS and Android are in charge, developing an application for Hongmeng will only cost hardware manufacturers and there will be no user growth. Based on the above considerations, Huawei positions Hongmeng as an operating system for the Internet of Everything.
In fact, the concept of the Internet of Everything has been popular for many years, but it has not been implemented on a large scale. Wang Yunhou said that in the context of declining hardware costs and increasingly mature application development in smart homes, smart wearable devices, and smart cars, there is still the problem of fragmentation of operating systems, that is, different underlying architectures often correspond to different operating systems, and different screen interactions are suitable. Difficulties in configuration, resulting in a lot of unnecessary repeated development.
From the data point of view, the number of smart terminals per capita is increasing, from 1.84 in 2010, to 3.47 in 2015, and then to 6.58 in 2020. But the problem is that most of the services are concentrated on mobile phones. It is very difficult for hardware and developers to distribute applications on mobile phones to all terminals naturally.
Therefore, Huawei’s thinking is to use the operating system to get through all the underlying difficulties, that is, to run an operating system on all hardware. The same goes for Hongmeng’s goal: to run an operating system on all hardware.
Hongmeng Essence
The essence of Hongmeng is to do such a thing: to interconnect all hardware to form a super terminal, which is equivalent to sharing the ecology of the mobile phone with all other hardware. Let application developers have more entrances and traffic, and hardware manufacturers have services.
Hongmeng is not the first domestically produced operating system. Internet company BAT has set up a project to develop an operating system in the past few years. Wang Yunhou said that unlike BAT in the past, Hongmeng is a very important move for Huawei. To deal with overseas sanctions, Huawei must solve the substitution problem of its own mobile phone operating system. This means that Huawei will tilt more resources and speed up Hongmeng. Rhythm.
Li Wei said that in China’s consumer Internet industry, the upper-level applications are extremely rich, but the danger is that there is no base, and it needs to solve the substitutable problem of the consumer Internet industry. Therefore, Hongmeng must popularize the consumer Internet.
Hongmeng includes open source and non-open source parts. Huawei has publicly stated that Hongmeng has adopted Google’s AOSP (Android Open-Source Project) open-source code. But this does not hinder its independence, because AOSP, as an open-source code project for Android, has always been modified and customized by mobile phone manufacturers. The system also has a large amount of source code provided by non-Google, making it almost unrestricted by open-source agreements At the same time, the use of AOSP makes Hongmeng compatible with Android, reducing the cost of developer migration.
Since May 2019, US sanctions have prevented Google from providing technical support to Huawei’s new phones, including prohibiting Huawei phones from using GMS (Google Mobile Service), which is the developer service pack on which most Android applications are based. The core and applications used by Hongmeng on the underlying architecture are independently developed, which allows it to circumvent the above-mentioned sanctions.
Hongmeng’s R&D team believes that Hongmeng has three unique technical advantages. First, a set of operating systems can be used to open up multiple terminals, and data between hardware can be communicated without transferring copies, forming a flexible deployment method, that is, files saved by users on any single terminal can also be used in all To use on the terminal.
Second, the unified resource pool is used in the underlying technology to directly realize the collaboration and sharing between devices.
Third, a unique information architecture is used to implement a free installation service, which can be transferred to different devices. Users can install or use an App on one terminal at a time, and the App can be transferred on different devices.
Many software developers told reporters that comparing Android and iOS, these features are not unique to Huawei. As far as Android is concerned, due to license restrictions, some functions cannot be implemented in China. Hongmeng is equivalent to making up for some of the missing functions of Google in China.
Wang Yunhou said that the above three functions have clear directions-the Internet of Things. In theory, Hongmeng can allow applications on mobile phones to be naturally distributed to all terminals, which indeed fits some of the current pain points of networked devices.
IoT Battlefield
Hongmeng’s goal is to have 1.2 million developers in applications within the year. In terms of hardware, 300 million terminals will be equipped during the year, and 1.2 billion terminals will be installed within three years.
To achieve the above goals, Hongmeng is facing two tough battles. The first is mobile phones. The mobile phone structure is stable, but the growth rate is not high. It is basically a stock market and needs to compete with Android. The other is the Internet of Things. Smart hardware including homes and cars has a growing trend. , There is no monopoly operating system, but the enterprise is small and scattered.
Huawei chose to focus on the Internet of Things first. Huawei chose six scenarios, smart home, sports and health, smart travel, smart office, audio-visual entertainment, and educational care.
Li Wei said that Hongmeng is an open-source operating system. Under the Open Atom Open Source Foundation, Huawei will have Hongmeng’s open-source projects. It is free for manufacturers to make open-source versions. In addition, Huawei has also launched a commercial release that includes additional services and technical support, which are charged.
Li Wei said that one of the pain points of traditional home furnishings is the networking problem. Data shows that less than 15% of users choose to connect to the Internet after buying. The second pain point is that various brands of home appliances are connected to each other, but they are not interoperable. This prevents users from enjoying the real Service limits the commercial space.
Hongmeng’s idea is to use OS capabilities to form a unified super terminal for all hardware, and then combine the existing application services on the mobile phone to carry out lightweight transformations and merge them together. This method brings commercial value to the traditional hardware industry. And new monetization methods bring inbound traffic to software Internet companies.
According to public news, since 2020, Midea and Fangtai brands have been equipped with Hongmeng. Take the smart oven as an example. Use a mobile phone to control the oven and let the oven perform baking according to the instructions of the App. The connection between the mobile phone and the steamer enhances the interaction between people and the home. In the next step, when the kitchen appliance in the home is connected to the mobile phone, the device will have an in-depth understanding of the user’s family and diet, and become a “personal housekeeper.”
Huawei has also launched a partner support program. In marketing, it gives Huawei partners a grade LOGO, and provides Huawei showrooms, exhibitions, and website marketing platforms; in research and development, there is Huawei global Openlab test support, access to eSDK/API, toolkits, technical documents, etc.; In terms of strategic resources, you can participate in Huawei’s high-level forums.
A person who studies operating systems told reporters that these small factories are labeled with Huawei’s LOGO as publicity for themselves. As long as Huawei does not charge a fee, the cost of carrying Hongmeng on them is not high.
Mobile Phone
Hongmeng’s other battlefield is in the mobile phone market, which is destined to be a tough battle.
Yang Haisong, vice president of Huawei’s consumer business AI and smart full-scenario business department, said in an interview that mobile phone manufacturers from the three parties are welcome to use the Hongmeng system to open source and build together. However, who owns the three-party mobile phones and when will they use the Hongmeng system depends entirely on the manufacturer’s own business considerations.
Li Wei told reporters that he has talked with many domestic manufacturers and some are also adapting Hongmeng, but more feedback is that it is very troublesome for them to carry Hongmeng.
A domestic mobile phone manufacturer told reporters that mobile phone manufacturers are seeing some potential risks, and they are holding a wait-and-see attitude, and even some resistance. He comes from a small and medium-sized mobile phone manufacturer and most of them are shipped overseas.
The person said that usually the three parties of OS, chip, and mobile phone need to be adapted. Over the years, Android has been adapted to chip manufacturers, and the chip is adapted to mobile phones. Android and domestic mobile phones have always been the default cooperative relationship. After years of running in, OS The cost of mobile phones is not high.
He said that small factories, are concerned about the cost of migration, especially when the adaptation of the initial chip factory is not perfect, the mobile phone factory must increase the corresponding software R&D team, and Android cannot be replaced, which is equivalent to two sets of R&D. The team has invested a lot of manpower and material resources. Moreover, a considerable number of mobile phones are sold overseas, and it is still unknown whether overseas users will recognize Hongmeng.
He believes that for top manufacturers, the first is the concern about brand image. If Hongmeng’s operation is unstable, it will affect the brand; if it works well, customers will think that we, as a domestic mobile phone, use a friend’s system, which will affect the brand.
Although the output value of Huawei mobile phones has fallen sharply due to sanctions and domestic mobile phones are willing to grab Huawei’s share, from the data point of view, sales in the first half of the year did not increase significantly, and entered a low point in April. The long-awaited 5G replacement wave. It has not yet appeared. Major manufacturers have lowered their shipments in the first quarter. The stock market has serious internal volume.
In the opinion of a Huawei person, although these are very real problems, the independence of China’s consumer Internet industry is a national trend, and it is hoped that manufacturers can adapt their corporate strategies to it.
Mobile phone manufacturers see commercial risks and carry Hongmeng, which will affect their relationship with Google. The two parties have always been the default cooperative relationship. Although the existence of the US entity list will threaten the relationship, the above-mentioned mobile phone manufacturers said that the industry’s expectations are not pessimistic.
Wang Yunhou said that the emergence of domestic systems is expected to break the status quo of iOS and Android oligopoly, allowing domestic mobile phone manufacturers to obtain just the right bargaining power, thus forming a win-win situation.
The above-mentioned operating system researchers said that regardless of cost, brand, and domestic mobile phone concerns, they are essentially afraid of being stuck in the neck by Huawei. The problem lies in the positioning of the industry chain. Nowadays, he is both a referee and an athlete. However, using Android is a fairer strategy.
Looking back at the early days of Android, Google itself only had a niche mobile phone brand, and it did not rely on mobile phones to make money, which is different from Huawei’s current position. This is also a difficulty brought by Huawei’s own positioning.
Huawei is also aware of this problem. Li Wei said that until the chip problem is resolved, Huawei will not expand in the terminal market, spin off the Honor company, and strategically will not expand its mobile phones. With the decline in inventory, it may be able to promote cooperation with other mobile phone manufacturers.
The above-mentioned domestic mobile phone people told reporters that Huawei had advocated the establishment of an alliance of domestic operating systems and invited mobile phone manufacturers to jointly establish standards and rules. At that time, Google was also in the early stage of ecology and established related alliances. But for Huawei’s advocacy, the company has not even considered taking part so far. It has also communicated with several other mobile phone brands. Everyone is still waiting and watching.
Breaking The Game: First Shop
“There is only one thing that can change us. There is enough hardware equipped with Hongmeng, and even a system has been formed. This will force the migration of mobile phones, and the threshold for migration will be lower by then,” said the above-mentioned mobile phone manufacturer.
At the moment, agents are paying close attention to the news of Hongmeng. A Huawei mobile phone distributor judged the reporter that Hongmeng’s target of 300 million devices this year is mostly equipped with Internet of Things devices, and it is mainly its own brand. Since Huawei launched its “1+8+n” strategy, it has been promoting smart terminals on a large scale. For the channel, mobile phones are no longer the main profit point and hope for combination products.
Wang Yunhou said that as the core carrier of a large number of mobile applications and Internet of Things services, mobile phones are an important window and traffic entrance to experience Hongmeng. It is Huawei’s unique advantage to promote the use of Hongmeng on its own mobile phones before obtaining support from friends. In contrast, although BAT is in a neutral position in the industrial ecology, it lacks its own mobile phone brand, making it difficult to take the first step in establishing an ecology.
The above-mentioned channel business has already applied for the beta version of Hongmeng mobile phone before, and he has to prepare a more professional explanation, hoping that the release of Hongmeng will increase his passenger flow.
The above-mentioned channel business said that the updating rhythm of each product is different, and the channel is increasing the purchase of combined products, placing Huawei’s watches, earphones, and large screens in the stores.
The channel business’s thinking is how to give users a complete experience. The above-mentioned channel dealers said that the areas that Huawei has locked include travel and home scenes. Midea, Fangtai, and automobile brands are all equipped with Hongmeng products, but they are still displayed in their respective stores. How to attract consumers to purchase home appliances in specialty stores, and how to transform Huawei users into the home and wear consumers, are the questions they are thinking about right now.
Due to the tight supply of goods, Huawei’s channels have shrunk to a certain extent, and some channels have turned to other brands. How to use and integrate the stock, especially some small and medium-sized franchise stores, is also a problem for channel vendors.
The source said that the leading channel business is planning to select some large-scale specialty stores in first-tier cities and sink home appliance cooperative brands to form a whole-house smart experience, at least to provide consumers with an experienced scene.
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