Huawei’s Survival Line: How HarmonyOS Marks Its Territory

Huawei announced that devices running HarmonyOS 5 and HarmonyOS 6 have surpassed 27 million. The company describes this metric as its “survival line” – the minimum scale necessary to maintain developer interest and sustain growth for the operating system’s ecosystem. HarmonyOS emerged six years ago after American sanctions denied Huawei access to Google services and Android. Since 2019, the company has been systematically transitioning its devices to their proprietary software, hastening this process amidst U.S. restrictions. Today, HarmonyOS is used not only in smartphones but also in other products, including the MateBook Fold laptop.

Huawei reports that the ecosystem continues to thrive. The platform hosts over 10 million developers, with more than 100,000 new devices activated daily, while HarmonyOS apps are downloaded and updated approximately 88 million times per day. The latest version, HarmonyOS 6, became available to developers in June 2025, with a fall release for Chinese users. Among its notable new features is a quick file transfer function reminiscent of AirDrop. Analysts also observe growing popularity of the system in its home market. According to Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter of 2025, HarmonyOS captured 17% of China’s mobile operating system market, surpassing iOS’s 16% for the sixth consecutive quarter. Android remains the leader, controlling about 66% of the market.

In a bid to further increase its market footprint, Huawei has recently forged strategic partnerships aimed at extending HarmonyOS reach beyond devices. These collaborations focus on creating a more integrated ecosystem that could see HarmonyOS play a significant role in smart home technologies and automotive applications. These strategic moves are largely seen as efforts to safeguard Huawei from external restrictions.