SHENZHEN, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei's HarmonyOS operating system, a rival to Apple's iOS and Google's Android, has built a vibrant ecosystem featuring more than 900 million devices, the company said Friday.

 

Yu Chengdong, Huawei's executive director, made the announcement during the company's annual developer conference held in the city of Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province.

 

A total of 2.54 million developers have joined the construction of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, according to Yu. More than 1,500 apps are available for use, he said.

 

"Now is the perfect time to join HarmonyOS," Yu said, describing the flourishing of HarmonyOS as an unstoppable trend.

 

HarmonyOS is an open-source operating system designed for various devices and scenarios, including intelligent screens, tablets, wearables and cars. It was first launched in August 2019.

 

Yu said HarmonyOS, which has evolved to reach its fourth iteration, has redrawn the bipolar landscape of mobile operating systems, providing a reliable new option for the world.

 

The Chinese-developed operating system has seen a surge in usage and ecosystem development in recent years. In March, the number of devices equipped with HarmonyOS was reported to have exceeded 800 million.

 

A report from market research firm Counterpoint Research issued in May said the market share of smartphones loaded with HarmonyOS in China rose to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2024, beating Apple's iOS, whose share dropped to 16 percent.

 

Industry insiders say a major advantage of HarmonyOS lies in the coordination between various platforms, including smartphones and other intelligent devices.

 

"HarmonyOS boasts the multi-purpose advantage, allowing an app to go through one development to suit various platforms, thus reducing the cost for developers," Zhang Ning, ecology director of WPS Office, a software suite similar to Microsoft Office.

 

During the conference, it was also announced that HarmonyOS NEXT, which was built independent of Android architecture, is expected to enter commercial use in the fourth quarter of 2024.