Huawei launches first phones capable of running its new self-developed operating system

Huawei connected Tuesday launched the Mate 70 bid of smartphones that tin tally connected the company's latest self-developed operating system, arsenic the Chinese elephantine continues its propulsion toward technological independency successful the aftermath of U.S. sanctions.

The Mate 70 is the successor of the Mate 60, which was released past twelvemonth and sent shockwaves done the tech and governmental worlds. It contained a semiconductor that galore had thought Huawei and China would find hard to produce, fixed the wide the U.S. restrictions that person looked to chopped disconnected the world's second-largest system from leading-edge chips. Huawei was separated from Google's Android operating system successful 2019, forcing the Chinese tech elephantine to make its ain software.

Huawei did not notation what spot the telephone was running, but Richard Yu, the caput of Huawei's user and car businesses, said that the Mate 70 tin run connected HarmonyOS NEXT — the company's archetypal afloat self-developed mobile operating system.

Huawei is hoping that the OS tin go a viable alternate to Android and Apple's iOS successful China. The company's aboriginal versions of HarmonyOS were built utilizing open-source Android code.

However, HarmonyOS NEXT reportedly nary longer uses that code, marking a siginficant update successful Huawei's bundle development.

The company's user concern was crippled aft assorted White House restrictions removed its entree to cardinal tech from chips to software. But with the Mate 60 motorboat past year, Huawei's concern successful China has been revived, putting unit connected Apple.

Huawei started taking reservations for the instrumentality earlier this period and has racked up much than 3 cardinal reservations for the instrumentality connected 1 Chinese e-commerce website. This whitethorn not needfully construe into sales.

The institution talked up the artificial quality features of its device, including photograph editing tools. It comes astatine a clip erstwhile smartphone makers are looking to lure customers successful with new AI tools. In China, the contention is connected among home players to marque an content with their AI tools before the motorboat of Apple Intelligence successful the country.

The Mate 70 bid comes successful 3 varieties — the Mate 70, Mate 70 Pro and Mate 70 Pro+. The Mate 70 starts astatine 5,499 ($759) Chinese yuan, portion the Mate 70 Pro+ starts astatine 8,499 yuan.

On Tuesday, Huawei besides took the wraps disconnected its latest foldable smartphone called the Mate X6 which starts astatine 12,999 yuan.

Over the past year, Huawei appears to beryllium bolstered by the occurrence of its devices successful China and, posting maturation that has propelled it backmost into the database of apical 5 smartphone players successful the country.

The institution has looked to show its technological capabilities publically from the trifold smartphone launched successful September to HarmonyOS NEXT successful a bid to amusement it is not being held backmost by U.S. sacntions.

In summation to the Mate 70 bid and Mate X6 foldable being susceptible of moving the caller OS, Huawei said immoderate of its older devices volition person the bundle upgrade implicit the coming months.

The occurrence of operating systems is often predicated connected the suite of its disposable apps. During the motorboat event, Yu showed how, arsenic portion of HarmonyOS NEXT, the AI tin interact with fashionable apps specified arsenic Alipay, 1 of China's biggest mobile outgo services.

For now, Huawei's latest phones alongside HarmonyOS NEXT are precise overmuch focused connected the Chinese market, arsenic the institution inactive faces mounting challenges abroad.