 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
 | |
 OpenHarmony 3.2 default embedded development board terminal GUI | |
| Developer | Various (OpenAtom Foundation,Huawei and others) |
|---|---|
| Written in | C,C++,ArkTS,JS,Rust,Assembly language and others |
| OS family | |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source,Free software |
| Initial release | September 10, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-09-10) |
| Latest release | 5.0.0 Release / September 29, 2024; 6 months ago (2024-09-29) |
| Repository | gitee |
| Marketing target | Embedded systems,smartphones,tablet computers,Laptops,wearable devices. |
| Update method | Over-the-air |
| Package manager | .app |
| Platforms | ARM,RISC-V,IA-32,x86-64,LoongArch, LinxiISA[1] |
| Kernel type | Multi-kernel (Kernel subsystem) withLinux kernel, andLiteOS [LiteOS-A (OpenHarmony Lightweight Kernel) & LiteOS-M],[2] UniProtonRTOSMicrokernel add-on and other add-ons |
| Userland | System Service Layer[citation needed] |
| Influenced by | Webinos,[citation needed]Android (EMUI),Openmoko Linux,GNU,LiteOS,HarmonyOS,openEuler |
| Default user interface | HarmonyOS Design (Design System) for OpenHarmony modified (multi-touch,GUI) |
| License | Apache license |
| Preceded by | LiteOS |
| Official website | openharmony |
| Support status | |
| Supported | |
OpenHarmony (OHOS,OH) is a family ofopen-source distributed operating systems based onHarmonyOS derived fromLiteOS, donated the L0-L2 branch source code byHuawei to theOpenAtom Foundation. Similar to HarmonyOS, the open-sourcedistributed operating system is designed with a layered architecture, consisting of four layers from the bottom to the top: thekernel layer, system service layer, framework layer, andapplication layer. It is also an extensive collection offree software, which can be used as an operating system or in parts with other operating systems via Kernel Abstraction Layer subsystems.[3][4]
OpenHarmony supports various devices running a mini system, such as printers, speakers, smartwatches, and other smart device with memory as small as 128 KB, or running a standard system with memory greater than 128 MB.[5]
The system contains the basic and some advanced capabilities of HarmonyOS such as DSoftBus technology with distributed device virtualization platform,[6] that is a departure from traditional virtualised guest OS for connected devices.[7]
The operating system is oriented towards theInternet of things (IoT) andembedded devices market with a diverse range of device support, includingsmartphones,tablets,smart TVs,smart watches,personal computers and othersmart devices.[8]
The first version of OpenHarmony was launched by the OpenAtom Foundation on September 10, 2020, after receiving a donation of the open-source code from Huawei.[9]
In December 2020, theOpenAtom Foundation and Runhe Software officially launched OpenHarmony open source project with seven units includingHuawei and Software Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The OpenHarmony 2.0 (Canary version) was launched in June 2021, supporting a variety of smart terminal devices.[9]
Based on its earlier version, OpenAtom Foundation launched OpenHarmony 3.0 on September 30, 2021, and brought substantial improvements over the past version to optimize the operating system, including supports for file security access (the ability to convert files into URIs and resolve URIs to open files) and support for basic capabilities of relational databases and distributed data management.[10]
A release of OpenHarmony supporting devices with up to 4 GB RAM was made available in April 2021.[11]
OpenAtom Foundation added a UniProton kernel, a hardware-basedMicrokernelreal-time operating system, into its repo as part of the Kernel subsystem of the OpenHarmony operating system as an add-on on August 10, 2022.[12]
The primaryIDE known asDevEco Studio to build OpenHarmony applications with OpenHarmony SDK full development kit that includes a comprehensive set of development tools, including adebugger, tester system via DevEco Testing, a repository withsoftware libraries forsoftware development, an embedded deviceemulator, previewer, documentation, sample code, and tutorials.Applications for OpenHarmony are mostly built using components ofArkUI, a Declarative User Interface framework. ArkUI elements are adaptable to various custom open-source hardware and industry hardware devices and include new interface rules with automatic updates along with HarmonyOS updates.[13]
Hardware development is developed using DevEco Studio via DevEco Device tool for building on OpenHarmony, also creating distros with operating system development withtoolchains provided, including verification certification processes for the platform, as well as customising the operating system as an open source variant compared to original closed distro variant HarmonyOS that primarily focus on HarmonyOS Connect partners with Huawei.[14]
OpenHarmony Application Binary Interface (ABI) ensures compatibility across various OpenHarmony powered devices with diverse set of chipset instruction set platforms.[15]
HDC (OpenHarmony Device Connector) is a command-line tool tailored for developers working with OpenHarmony devices. The BM command tool component of HDC tool is used to facilitate debugging by developers. After entering in the HDC shell command, the BM tool can be utilised.[16][17]
LikeHarmonyOS, OpenHarmony usesApp Pack files suffixed with .app, also known as APP files onAppGallery and third party distribution application stores on OpenHarmony-based and non-OpenHarmony operating systems such as Linux-basedUnity Operating System which is beneficial for interoperability and compatibility. Each App Pack has one or moreHarmonyOS Ability Packages (HAP) containing code for their abilities, resources, libraries, and aJSON file withconfiguration information.[18]
While incorporating the OpenHarmony layer for running the APP files developed based on HarmonyOS APIs, the operating system utilizes the mainLinux kernel for bigger memory devices, as well as the RTOS-basedLiteOS kernel for smaller memory-constrained devices, as well as add-ons, custom kernels in distros in the Kernel Abstract Layer (KAL) subsystem that is not kernel dependent nor instruction set dependent. For webview applications, it incorporatesArkWeb software engine as of API 11 release at system level for security enhancingChromium Embedded Framework nweb software engine that facilitatedBlink-basedChromium in API 5.[19]
Unlike with open-sourceAndroid operating system with countless third-party dependency packages repeatedly built into the apps at a disadvantage when it comes to fragmentation. The OpenHarmony central repositories with the Special Interest Group atOpenAtom governance provides commonly used third-party public repositories for developers in the open-source environment which brings greaterinteroperability andcompatibility with OpenHarmony-based operating systems. Apps does not require repeated built-in third-party dependencies, such asChromium,Unity andUnreal Engine. This can greatly reduce the system ROM volume.[20]
Harmony Distributed File System (HMDFS) is a distributed file system designed for large-scale data storage and processing that is also used inopenEuler. It is inspired by theHadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). The file system suitable for scenarios where large-scale data storage and processing are essential, such as IoT applications, edge computing, and cloud services.[21] On Orange Pi OS (OHOS), the native file system shows LOCAL and shared_disk via OpenHarmony's Distributed File System (HMDFS)File path/root folder for the file system uses ">" instead of traditional "/" in Unix/Linux/Unix-like and "\" onWindows with itsDLL (Dynamic-link library) system.
Access token manager is an essential component in OpenHarmony-based distributed operating systems, responsible for unified app permission management based on access tokens. Access tokens serve as identifiers for apps, containing information such as app ID, user ID, app privilege level (APL), and app permissions. By default, apps can access limited system resources. ATM ensures controlled access to sensitive functionalities which combines bothRBAC andCBAC models as a hybridACL model.[22]
OpenHarmony kernel abstract layer employs the third-partymusl libc library and native APIs, providing support for the Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) forLinux syscalls within theLinux kernel side and LiteOS kernel that is the inherent part of the originalLiteOS design in POSIX API compatibility within multi-kernel Kernel Abstract Layer architecture.[23] Developers and vendors can create components and applications that work on the kernel based onPOSIX standards.[24]
OpenHarmony NDK is a toolset that enables developers to incorporate C and C++ code into their applications. Specifically, in the case of OpenHarmony, the NDK serves as a bridge between the native world (C/C++) and the OpenHarmony ecosystem.[25]
This NAPI method is a vital importance of open source community of individual developers, companies and non-profit organisations of stakeholders in manufacturers creating third party libraries for interoperability and compatibility on the operating system native open source and commercial applications development from third-party developers between southbound and northbound interface development of richer APIs, e.g. third party Node.js,Simple DirectMedia Layer,Qt framework,LLVM compiler,FFmpeg etc.[26][27]
OpenHarmony can be deployed on various hardware devices ofARM,RISC-V andx86 architectures withmemory volumes ranging from as small as 128 KB up to more than 1 MB. It supports hardware devices with three types of system as follows:[28]
To ensure OpenHarmony-based devices are compatible and interoperable in the ecosystem, the OpenAtom Foundation has set up product compatibility specifications, with a Compatibility Working Group to evaluate and certify the products that are compatible with OpenHarmony.[29][30]
The following two types of certifications were published for the partners supporting the compatibility work, with the right to use the OpenHarmony Compatibility Logo on their certified products, packaging, and marketing materials.[31]
On April 25, 2022, 44 products have obtained the compatibility certificates, and more than 80 software and hardware products are in the process of evaluation for OpenHarmony compatibility.[citation needed]
Since OpenHarmony was open source in September 2020 to December 2021, more than 1,200 developers and 40 organizations have participated in the open source project and contributed code. At present, OpenHarmony has developed to 4.x version.
| Version number | Release date | API level | Main features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | September 10, 2020 | 5 | Initial release. Support terminal devices with memory from 128KB to 128MB, based onLiteOS kernel foundation.[32] |
| 1.1.0 long-term support version | April 1, 2021 | 5 | Add and upgrade subsystems to unify the artificial intelligence engine framework[33] |
| 2.0 Canary version | June 2, 2021 | 6 | Support smart terminal devices with more than 128MB of memory, and introduce theLinux kernel as the technical base for standard system[34] |
| 2.2 Beta version | September 4, 2021 | 6 | Possess typical distributed capabilities and media product development capabilities |
| 3.0 long-term support version | September 30, 2021 | 7 | New features and functions for lightweight, small and standard systems |
| 3.1 Beta version | December 31, 2021 | 8-9 | Enhance basic capabilities, system distribution capabilities, system application framework capabilities, and lightweight system capabilities, etc. Support for rich 3D applications, withOpenGL,OpenGL ES andWebGL technologies.[35] |
| 3.2 Beta version 1[citation needed] | May 31, 2022 | 8-9 | Enhance the basic capabilities of lightweight and standard systems, the framework capabilities of standard system applications, and the application capabilities of standard systems |
| 4.0 beta version 1 | June 3, 2023 | 10 | Improve the capabilities of the standard system and further improve the capabilities and effects of ArkUI components |
| 4.0 release version | October 26, 2023 | 10 | A large number of ArkTS APIs have been added, and the scope of distributed hardware support has been expanded |
| 4.1 beta 1 version | December 31, 2023 | 11 | New system capabilities by improving software architecture. Optimizations on ArkUI for component capabilities and effects. Enhancement on graphics window for dynamic effects and screen adaptation for different hardware. App framework improves extension capabilities, distributed soft bus connection, and more. Improvements to audio and camera frameworks on open-source code.[36] |
| 4.1 release version | March 30, 2024 | 11 | 4,000 APIs have been added to provide developers with rich app development capabilities, the open capabilities of application development are presented in the Kit dimension, providing developers with clearer logic and scenario-based perspectives, openness and dynamic capabilities ofArkUI components have been further enhanced, the web capabilities have been continuously supplemented, making it easier for developers to quickly build applications using Web capabilities, and distributed capabilities have further enhanced stability of networking. Connection security, etc., media support for richer encoding, support for more refined broadcast control capabilities, etc. As well asArkWeb software engine featured onHarmonyOS NEXT, replaces old nweb software engine that takes advantage ofChromium web browser andBlink browser engine. Core File Kit API enhancedAccess token manager with on-deviceAI andcapability-based features on OpenHarmony Distributed File System (HMDFS) system as well as Local file system with Application files, user files and system files taking advantage of TEE kernel hardware-level features interoperable with commercial HarmonyOS NEXT system cross-file sharing and accessing interactions.[38] NFC provides HCE card emulation capabilities.Public Basic Class Library supportsThread Pools, "workers" within HSP and HAR modules ofHAP apps. ArkGraphics 2D, 2D Draw API supported. |
| 4.1.1 release version | May 23, 2024 | 11 | Based on the OpenHarmony 4.1 Release, the current version fixes some issues that fix the stability of the system and enhances the stability of the system. Focused around small and lightweight systems of LiteOS RTOS kernel[43] |
| 5.0 beta 1 version | May 25, 2024 | 12 | New APIs, improved and unified, completed ecosystem API and software framework stack around ArkUI and focus target on basic in-vehicle capabilities. The latest beta version is designed to further improve system performance, strengthen the secure base, and expand the capabilities of the distributed base. In this release, we focus on optimizing the development framework, enhancing the underlying platform functionality, improving the Ark compilation runtime, and enhancing the driver framework and power management. At the same time, we're also introducing new features for media processing, pan-sensor, and event notifications.[44] |
| 5.0.0 release version | September 29, 2024 | 12 | New API 12 stable APIs. Application framework adds more lifecycle management capabilities and sub-process-related capabilities to schedule and manage task execution at application runtime in more granular manner. ArkUI further opens up rendering capability of custom nodes; Application package management improves efficiency of application packaging and enriches operational scenarios (such as creating application clones and desktop shortcuts) when end users use applications. The distributed data management capability further enhanced, security enhanced on the premise of ensuring reasonable data sharing, and adaptive Sendable mechanism of other modules enhanced. And more new features.[45][46] |
OpenHarmony is the most activeopen source project hosted on theGitee platform. As of September 2023, it has over 30 open-source software distributions compatible with OpenHarmony for various sectors such as education, finance, smart home, transportation, digital government and other industries.[47][48][49]
On 14, September 2021, Huawei announced the launch of commercial proprietary MineHarmony OS, a customized operating system by Huawei based on its in-house HarmonyOS distro based on OpenHarmony for industrial use. MineHarmony is compatible with about 400 types of underground coal mining equipment, providing the equipment with a single interface to transmit and collect data for analysis. Wang Chenglu, President of Huawei's consumer business AI and smart full-scenario business department, indicated that the launch of MineHarmony OS signified that the HarmonyOS ecology had taken a step further fromB2C toB2B.[50][51][52]
Midea, a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer launched Midea IoT operating system 1.0. An IoT centric operating system based on OpenHarmony 2.0 officially launched in October 2021. After, the company used HarmonyOS operating system with Huawei partnership for its smart devices compatibility since June 2, 2021 launch of HarmonyOS 2.0.[53][54][55][56]
On January 6, 2022, OpenHarmony in Space (OHIS) by OHIS Working Group and Dalian University of Technology led by Yu Xiaozhou was reported to be a vital play in the future from a scientific and engineering point of view, expecting to open up opportunities for development in China's satellite systems, and surpassSpaceX’s Star Chain plan with the idea of micro-nano satellite technology.[57]
Based on OpenHarmony, SwanLinkOS was released in June 2022 by Honghu Wanlian (Jiangsu) Technology Development, a subsidiary ofiSoftStone, for the transportation industry. The operating system supports mainstream chipsets, such asRockchip RK3399 and RK3568, and can be applied in transportation and shipping equipment for monitoring road conditions, big data analysis, maritime search and rescue.[58]
It was awarded the OpenHarmony Ecological Product Compatibility Certificate by the OpenAtom Foundation.[59]
On November 7, 2022, ArcherMind Cooperation that deals with operating systems, interconnection solutions, smart innovations, and R&D aspects launched the HongZOS system that supports OpenHarmony and HiSilicon chips, solution mainly focuses on AIoT in industrial sectors.[60]
On November 28, 2022, Orange Pi launched the Orange Pi OS based on the open-source OpenHarmony version.[61] In October 2023, they released the Orange Pi 3B board with the Orange Pi OHOS version for hobbyists and developers based on the OpenHarmony 4.0 Beta1 version.[62][63][64]
On December 23, 2022, the integrated software and hardware solution together with the self-developed hardware products of Youbo Terminal runs RobanTrust OS, based on OpenHarmony that was launched as version 1.0 with 3.1.1 compatibility release.[65]
On January 14, 2023, Red Flag smart supercharger, first launched on OpenHarmony-based KaihongOS with OpenHarmony 3.1 support that supports the distributed soft bus that allows interconnection with other electronic devices and electrical facilities.[66]On January 17, 2023, an electronic class card with 21.5-inch screen developed by Chinasoft and New Cape Electronics.[67]On November 17, 2023, Kaihong Technology andLeju Robot collaborated to release the world's first humanoid robot powered by the open-source OpenHarmony distro KaihongOS withRockchip SoC hardware usingRTOS kernel technology for industrial robotic machines with predictable response times in determinism.[citation needed]
On April 15, 2023, Tongxin Software became OpenAtom's OpenHarmony Ecological Partner.[citation needed] An intelligent terminal operating system for enterprises in China by Tongxin Software was passed for compatibility certification on June 7, 2023. Tongxin intelligent terminal operating system supports ARM, X86, and other architectures that is supported. Tongxin has established cooperative relations with major domestic mobile chip manufacturers and has completed adaptations using the Linux kernel. Together with the desktop operating system and the server operating system, it constitutes the Tongxin operating system family.[citation needed]
PolyOS Mobile is anAIIoT open-source operating system tailored forRISC-V intelligent terminal devices by the PolyOS Project based on OpenHarmony, which was released on August 30, 2023, and is available forQEMU virtualisation on Windows 10 and 11 desktop machines.[68]
LightBeeOS launched on September 28, 2023, is an OpenHarmony-based distro that supports financial level security, with distribution bus by Shenzhen Zhengtong Company used for industrial public banking solutions of systems, tested on ATM machines with UnionPay in Chinese domestic market. The operating system has been launched with OpenHarmony 3.2 support and up.[69]
| Developer | Various (Eclipse Foundation,Huawei,Linaro and others) |
|---|---|
| Written in | ArkTS,Rust,JS,C,C++,Assembly language and others |
| OS family | OpenHarmony |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source,Free software |
| Initial release | October 26, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-10-26) |
| Latest release | 4.1[70] / June 21, 2024 |
| Repository | github |
| Marketing target | Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Industrial IoT devices, Smart Home, and Multimedia. |
| Update method | Over-the-air |
| Package manager | .app, OpenHarmony Package Manager (ohpm) |
| Platforms | ARM,RISC-V,x86,x64,LoongArch, LinxiISA[1] |
| Kernel type | Multi-kernel (Kernel subsystem) withLinux kernel, RTOSZephyr kernel,FreeRTOS andLiteOS [LiteOS-A (OpenHarmony Lightweight Kernel) & LiteOS-M], add-ons[2] and add-ons |
| Userland | System Service Layer[citation needed] |
| Influenced by | Webinos,Openmoko Linux,Linux,freeBSD,BSD,Unix-like,HarmonyOS,openEuler |
| Default user interface | Harmony Design for OpenHarmony-Oniro modified (Design System) (multi-touch,GUI and other custom inputs) |
| License | Eclipse Public License,Apache License |
| Official website | oniroproject |
| Support status | |
| Supported | |
On September 28, 2021, theEclipse Foundation and theOpenAtom Foundation announced their intention to form a partnership to collaborate on OpenHarmony European distro which is a global family of operating systems under it and a family of the OpenHarmony operating system. Like OpenHarmony, it is one OS kit for all paradigm, enables a collection offree software, which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems via Kernel Abstraction Layer subsystems on Oniro OS distros.[71]
Oniro OS or simply Oniro, also known as Eclipse Oniro Core Platform, is adistributed operating system forAIoTembedded systems launched on October 26, 2021, as Oniro OS 1.0, which is implemented to be compatible with HarmonyOS based on OpenHarmony L0-L2 branch source code, was later launched by the Eclipse Foundation for the global market with the founding members including Huawei,Linaro and Seco among others joined later on. Oniro is designed on the basis of open source and aims to be transparent, vendor-neutral, and independent system in the era ofIoT with globalisation and localisation strategies resolving a fragmentated IoT andEmbedded devices market.[72][73]
The operating system featured aYocto system ofLinux kernel for developments ofOpenEmbedded build system with BitBake and Poky which is now part of Oniro blueprints that aims to be platform agnostic, however it is now aligned with OpenAtom development of OpenHarmony.[74] The goal is to increase the distro with partners that create their own OpenHarmony-Oniro compatible distros that increase interoperability which reduces fragmentation of diverse platforms with diverse set of hardwares with enhancements from derived project back to original project in Upstream development of OpenHarmony source code branch to improve global industrial standards compatibilities customised for global markets. It is also used for Downstream development for enhancing OpenHarmony base in global and western markets for compatibility and interoperability with connected IoT systems as well as custom third-party support on-device AI features on custom frameworks such asTensorflow,CUDA and others, alongside native HuaweiMindSpore solutions across the entire OpenHarmony ecosystem. Oniro platform which is both compatible with OpenHarmony systems in China and Huawei's ownHarmonyOS platform globally, including western markets in connectivity and apps.[75][76]
Rust in a framework alongside theData Plane Development Kit (DPDK) IP Pipeline andprofiling,React Native and Kanto in Applications development system on top of OpenHarmony,Servo andLinaro tools in system services,Matter opеn-sourcе, royalty-frее connеctivity standard that aims to unify smart homе dеvicеs and incrеasе thеir compatibility with various platforms andOSGi in driver subsystem, IoTex in swappable kernel development, andEclipse Theia inintegrated development environment to build Oniro OS apps that has interoperability with OpenHarmony based operating systems. Data can be transmitted directly rather than being shared via cloud online, enabling low latency architectures in more secure methods and privacy functions suitable for AIoT and smart home devices integration.[77][78]
In September 2023, Open Mobile Hub (OMH) led byLinux Foundation was formed, as an open-source platform ecosystem that aims to simplify and enhance the development of mobile applications for various platforms, includingiOS,Android, and OpenHarmony based global Oniro OS alongside,HarmonyOS (NEXT) with greater cross platform and open interoperability in mobile with OMH plugins such asGoogle APIs,Google Drive,OpenStreetMap alongsideBing Maps,Mapbox,Microsoft,Facebook,Dropbox,LinkedIn,X and more. Open Mobile Hub platform aims to provide a set of tools and resources to streamline the mobile app development process.[79]
The Oniro project is focused on being a horizontal platform for application processors and microcontrollers.[80] it is anembedded OS, using theYocto build system, with a choice of either theLinux kernel,Zephyr, orFreeRTOS.[80] It includes an IP toolchain, maintenance,OTA, and OpenHarmony. It provides example combinations of components for various use cases, called "Blueprints".[80] Oniro OS 2.0 was released in 2022 and Oniro OS 3.0 based on OpenHarmony 3.2 LTS in October 2023, alongside latest 4.0 version as of December 6, 2023 on the main branch.[81][82][83]
| OpenHarmony version | Oniro version number | Release date | API level | Main features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 LTS | 1.0 | September 28, 2021 (release base: October 26, 2021) | 7 | New features and functions for lightweight, small and standard systems |
| 3.2 LTS | 2.0 | 2022 | 8-9 | Enhance basic capabilities, system distribution capabilities, system application framework capabilities, and lightweight system capabilities, etc. |
| 3.2 LTS | 3.0 | October 2023 | 9 | Enhance the basic capabilities of lightweight and standard systems, the framework capabilities of standard system applications, and the application capabilities of standard systems |
| 4.0 | 4.0 | December 6, 2023 | 10 | A large number of ArkTS APIs have been added, and the scope of distributed hardware support has been expanded. React Native Ported. |
| 4.1 | 4.1 | June 21, 2024 | 11 | A large number of ArkTS API 11 have been added, and the scope of distributed hardware support has been expanded. Oniro developer phone development for German OEM Volla based phones.[84] |
Huawei officially announced the commercial distro of proprietary HarmonyOS NEXT,microkernel-based coredistributed operating system forHarmonyOS at Huawei Developer Conference 2023 (HDC) on August 4, 2023, which supports only nativeAPP apps via Ark Compiler withHuawei Mobile Services (HMS) Core support. Proprietary system built on OpenHarmony, HarmonyOS NEXT has the HarmonyOS microkernel at its core and it has noapk compatibility support built exclusively for Huawei devices ecosystem.[85]
In the long term, as the company builds up the software root in downstream development for both domestic Chinese and global markets, the closed HarmonyOS NEXT customised L0-L2 full branch source code of the OpenHarmony operating system is aimed to replace the current closed-source L3-L5 branch since OpenHarmony 2.2 fork branch with 8GB worth of code up to 4.x with 60% codebase designed with a dual-frame architecture that is compatible withAndroid withEMUI userland in the multi-kernel architecture of HarmonyOS from currentLinux kernel on phones and tablets, cars, TVs and advanced wearables, alongside lightweightLiteOS kernel on basic wearables and various IoT smart devices. On the same day at HDC 2023, the developer preview version of HarmonyOS NEXT was opened for cooperating enterprise developers to build and test native mobile apps. It will be open to all developers in the first quarter of 2024 according to the official announcement.[86][87][88]
On 18 January 2024, Huawei announced HarmonyOS NEXT Galaxy stable rollout will begin in Q4 2024 based on OpenHarmony 5.0 (API 12) version after OpenHarmony 4.1 (API 11) based Q2 Developer Beta after release of public developer access of HarmonyOS NEXT Developer Preview 1 that has been in the hands of closed cooperative developers partners since August 2023 debut. The new system of HarmonyOS 5 version will replace previous HarmonyOS 4.2 system for commercial Huawei consumer devices that can only run native HarmonyOS apps built for HarmonyOS and OpenHarmony as well as localisation using Oniro OS for downstream development at global level customised to global markets and standards enhancing OpenHarmony development.[89]
On June 21, 2024, Huawei announced via HDC 2024 conference and released Developer Beta milestone of HarmonyOS NEXT based on OpenHarmony 5.0 beta1 version for registered public developers withHMS Core library embedded in native NEXT-specific API Developer Kit alongside supported compatible OpenHarmony APIs for native OpenHarmony-based HarmonyOS apps. The company officially confirmed the operating system is OpenHarmony compatible with the new boot image system.[90]
On October 22, 2024, Huawei launched HarmonyOS 5.0.0 at its launch event, upgrading the HarmonyOS Next developer internal and public software versions, completing the transitioning and replacing dual-framework of previous mainline HarmonyOS versions with full OpenHarmony base with customHarmonyOS kernel on the original L0-L2 codebase branch, marking officially as an independent commercial operating system and ecosystem fromAndroid fork dependencies with 15,000+ native apps launched on the platform. As a result, OpenHarmony-based systems, including Oniro-based systems are aimed to be compatible with HarmonyOS nativeHAP apps,NearLink wireless connectivity stack and cross-device with upgraded DSoftBus connectivity.[91][92]
In terms of architecture, OpenHarmony alongside HarmonyOS has close relationship with server-based multi-kernel operating system OpenEuler, which is a community edition ofEulerOS, as they have implemented the sharing of kernel technology as revealed by Deng Taihua, President of Huawei's Computing Product Line.[93] The sharing is reportedly to be strengthened in the future in the areas of the distributedsoftware bus, app framework, system security, device driver framework and new programming language on the server side.[94]
Harmony Distributed File System (HMDFS) is a distributed file system designed for large-scale data storage and processing that is also used in openEuler server operating system.
| Smart devices |
|  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication infrastructure | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| People |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
