Huawei has officially crossed a critical threshold in its quest for software independence. During the launch of the Pura 90 series and the Pura X Max on April 20, Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei's Consumer BG, announced that HarmonyOS 6 has already surpassed 55 million terminal devices. This milestone signals a rapid acceleration for the homegrown operating system as it attempts to break the long-standing global duopoly of Android and iOS.
Central to this latest rollout is the Pura X Max, a device Huawei describes as a 'new species' in the mobile market. Moving beyond the standard book-style and clamshell foldables, the 'wide-fold' (Kuo-fold) form factor attempts to solve the utility gap that has plagued vertical foldables. By prioritizing a wider aspect ratio, Huawei aims to transition the foldable from a niche aesthetic choice into a high-productivity tool capable of handling complex information flows.
Beyond hardware, Huawei is pivoting toward what it calls 'Companion AI.' Unlike traditional voice assistants that wait for user prompts, the new Xiaoyi AI is integrated at the system level to anticipate needs within apps like WeChat, Amap, and Didi. This 'proactive' interaction model suggests that Huawei sees AI not just as a feature, but as the fundamental glue that will bind its hardware and software into a seamless, competitive ecosystem.
Industry analysts at IDC now project that HarmonyOS will command nearly 15% of the Chinese market by 2026, effectively establishing a 'triumvirate' of operating systems. However, the path forward remains fraught with technical hurdles. While domestic giants like Tencent and ByteDance have already optimized their flagship apps for HarmonyOS, the platform still faces a 'long-tail' challenge—persuading smaller developers to invest in a third architecture.
Richard Yu’s rhetoric remains characteristically bold, framing Huawei’s strategy as an pursuit of products that others 'dare not imagine.' By combining unconventional hardware shapes with deeply integrated, system-level AI, Huawei is attempting to leapfrog the incrementalism that has recently defined the global smartphone industry. Whether this 'asymmetric innovation' can permanently erode Apple and Samsung's high-end dominance remains the billion-dollar question for the coming year.