After getting placed on a U.S. trade blacklist in 2019, Huawei Technologies was forced to quickly develop local alternatives to keep its business going. Now, years later, these homegrown products are proving lucrative enough to reportedly become their own sources of revenue.
Huawei released its mobile operating system, HarmonyOS, in 2019, shortly after the U.S. placed the Chinese tech company on a trade blacklist that cut off its access to Google’s Android. While Huawei based initial versions of HarmonyOS on Android, the latest version of the operating system will shut out Android apps. It could be rolled out on Huawei phones later this year.
HarmonyOS is quickly muscling in on China’s smartphone market. It’s now the second-most-used operating system there in just under five years, according to a recent report from market research firm Counterpoint. HarmonyOS had 17% market share during the first quarter of the year, ahead of Apple’s iOS with 16%. Google’s Android is still by far the most popular mobile OS, with a 68% share of the market.
That quick ascent could be giving Huawei confidence to start charging rent. Huawei currently does not charge a fee for developers to use HarmonyOS. But the tech company is now considering charging developers a 20% cut of their proceeds, Bloomberg reports.
Apple and Google both charge developers commission rates between 15% and 30%.
A Huawei spokesperson said Bloomberg’s report was “untrue,” though did not provide specifics.
Much of Huawei’s recent comeback has focused on its hardware rather than software. The Shenzhen-based tech firm’s smartphone business has surged since the release of its Mate 60 series smartphone last August, featuring a domestically produced chip in spite of U.S. sanctions. The company’s latest high-end smartphone, the Pura 70, also sold out quickly after its launch in April.
Huawei’s return is chipping away at the iPhone’s market share in China, according to data from market research firms.
Huawei is reportedly expected to release its Mate 70 around September or October.
Update June 18, 2024: This story has been updated with a comment from Huawei.