Huawei's new Harmony OS is microkernel-based, won't allow root access, but Android apps could be adapted to run on it

Harmony OS is microkernel-based, like Google’s in-development Fuchsia OS. Huawei says that Fuchsia uses a “non-distributed design,” unlike the new Harmony OS. Huawei says that this allows for flexible deployment of the new OS on various devices, easing app development in all scenarios. To justify both of these claims, Huawei brings up that it is “hard to deliver a smooth experience across different devices with a huge amount of code in Android and Linux core.” That’s because “multi-device interconnection raises requirements for security” and the “close-coupling between the app ecosystem and the hardware compromises the user experience and development efficiency.” The use of a microkernel also improves security, according to Huawei. The microkernel only “provides the most basic services like thread scheduling and IPC,” while most system services are implemented in user space. With less code to audit, the probability that a new attack will be discovered will be low. Huawei also says it is using “formal verification methods” to secure the TEE kernel.

Huawei announced its plans to open-source Harmony OS, establish an open-source foundation, and create an open-source community for collaboration.

Harmony OS is not compatible with Android apps out-of-the-box, confirms Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group. That means you won’t be able to merely side-load any Android app of your choosing. In a press conference, Mr. Yu says that app developers will have to make “small changes” to their apps in order to compile them to run on Harmony OS. He states that it is “very easy” to transfer Android apps to Harmony OS.

The new OS looks very interesting and innovative supposedly having learnt from what has been developing over the last few years and trying to solve those problems. Yes one of the biggest hursles often is the app eco-system but if they can adapt Android apps to easily run on this platform that will be intereting to see (as end users we communicate with other users through the app, like Android users do with iOS users). The plus is its open source so although no root access allowed in theory it may be able to have a more open version created like LineageOS is to Android.

So let's watch this space...

More info at #^https://www.xda-developers.com/harmony-os-huawei-announce/

#HarmonyOS #huawei #android
#^Huawei officially reveals Harmony OS, its first party operating system