Harmony OS: Are Android Apps Compatible?
Huawei has presented its new operating system, HarmonyOS. It will soon be used on smartphones and tablets that previously ran Android from Google. But do classic Android apps work under HarmonyOS, and what are the other differences? A professor now reveals many details – also about the future.
Android apps run on HarmonyOS – for now
In China, training with the new HarmonyOS has started at certain universities. Huawei approached teachers and provided them with smartphones with the operating system. As a result, we are already learning many details that the Chinese company has not yet answered. Professor Zhao Xiaogang from the Faculty of Computer Science at Wuhan University gave a fascinating insight. He found the following details compared to Android:—
HarmonyOS is not an Android skin like EMUI: According to the professor, Huawei is currently only in a transition period. The company developed HarmonyOS similar to Android to increase acceptance. That’s why Android apps are currently still running under HarmonyOS. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. After a certain amount of time, developers would appreciate the benefits of harmony and adapt their apps specifically for it, he believes.
Harmony is faster and more efficient: The new operating system has two decisive advantages. First, it works faster than Android, and it is said to be even more efficient than Apple’s iOS. In our opinion, this could take Huawei smartphones to a new level, and not just turn them into a simple Android imitation.
He even confirms that well-known apps such as WeChat, QQ, or Alipay run as Android apps on the Huawei mobile phone and have not yet been adapted to the new operating system. Therefore, it can currently be assumed that most Android apps will run without problems under HarmonyOS. So if you upgrade from Android with EMUI to HarmonyOS, you shouldn’t have any disadvantages. However, it is still unclear whether the Google apps will still run if you have a Huawei P30 Pro, for example.
HarmonyOS so far only in China
A few days ago, HarmonyOS, the Huawei Watch 3 in two versions, and two tablets were officially presented at the Huawei event. Huawei has also announced that over 100 devices will be updated to HarmonyOS. But that applies first to China. It is not known when the upgrades will arrive.
