Huawei Developer Conference: Huawei Unveils Harmony OS 2.0 and EMUI 11

Huawei has announced a new version of its own operating system for smart devices – Harmony OS 2.0, as well as an upgrade of its EMUI user interface for Android-based smartphones. These announcements came during its three-day Huawei Developer Conference (HDC), which began on Thursday.

Huawei said that HarmonyOS 2.0 brings a comprehensive upgrade to the operating system’s existing distributed capabilities, including its software bus, data management, and security. The OS will officially be open-source starting from today, and the company will provide developers with access to emulators, SDK packages, and IDE tools.

Executive Director and CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group Richard Yu said that the project will initially be open to devices with less than 128MB RAM, including smart TVs, wearables, and car head units. This will then be expanded to more devices in 2021.

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“In April 2021, we will open it to 128MB-4GB devices and in October 2021, HarmonyOS will be opened for devices above 4GB,” Yu added. He also confirmed that Huawei will launch its first smartphone running HarmonyOS in 2021.

EMUI 11 launch

Huawei further unveiled EMUI 11, a new version of its user interface on its Android-based smartphones. President of the Software Department at Huawei Consumer Business Group Wang Chenglu elaborated on the key features of EMUI 11, including new human factors-based user experience (UX) design, privacy and security features, and improved all-scenario experiences.

The design offers new Always-On Display options and long-take transition animations. Improvements have also been made in Huawei’s distributed technology, in particular its Multi-Screen Collaboration feature, which now allows for up to three active windows to be projected from the smartphone to a PC.

“Students can make particularly effective use of this feature while attending online classes. For instance, they can use the first window to watch the stream, the second window for a note-taking app, and discuss lecture materials with fellow classmates on the third,” Huawei explained.

Additional privacy features were also showcased, such as a tool for easily purging sensitive metadata from images before transferring them and encryption of written memos via a PIN or biometrics.

The EMUI 11 Beta Programme will be available on the following Huawei devices:

• P40
• P40 Pro
• P40 Pro+
• Mate 30
• Mate 30 5G
• Mate 30 Pro
• Mate 30 Pro 5G
• Porsche Design Mate 30 RS
• MatePad Pro
• MatePad Pro 5G

The beta will be extended to the Honor 30, Honor V30, Huawei Nova 7, and other smartphones at a later date.