HarmonyOS NEXT Public Beta Begins: Mate 60 Series Leads, Pura70 Series Absence Sparks Controversy

HarmonyOS NEXT Public Beta Begins: Mate 60 Series Leads, Pura70 Series Absence Sparks ControversyHuawei officially announced that the HarmonyOS NEXT public beta will officially begin on October 8th, with the first batch of beta devices including the Huawei Mate 60 series, Huawei MateX5 series, and MatePadPro 13.2 series

HarmonyOS NEXT Public Beta Begins: Mate 60 Series Leads, Pura70 Series Absence Sparks Controversy

Huawei officially announced that the HarmonyOS NEXT public beta will officially begin on October 8th, with the first batch of beta devices including the Huawei Mate 60 series, Huawei MateX5 series, and MatePadPro 13.2 series. Users can apply to participate through the "My Huawei" app. Notably, the initial beta devices do not include the flagship imaging Pura70 series, a situation that has sparked dissatisfaction among some users.

As a new high-end model, the Pura70 series should logically have priority access to new system adaptation. However, it has been excluded alongside the nova series, undoubtedly disappointing Pura70 users. Although this is only a system beta, users generally expect the Pura70 series to receive system updates soon.

According to Huawei, the official version of HarmonyOS NEXT will begin rolling out in the fourth quarter of 2024. Among mobile devices, the Mate 60 series, MateX5 series, Pura70 series, and Pocket2 will be the first to receive adaptation.

The most significant change in HarmonyOS NEXT lies in its adoption of entirely Huawei-developed underlying code. Applications will also switch to native HarmonyOS apps, no longer compatible with previous APK apps. Huawei has repeatedly announced the adaptation status of native HarmonyOS applications, with most major apps having completed adaptation, covering users' daily usage scenarios.

Currently, the number of applications that have completed native adaptation for HarmonyOS NEXT has reached 4,000. Huawei states that they will continue to promote adaptation efforts, aiming to increase the number to 5,000 by 2024.

However, the biggest uncertainty surrounding HarmonyOS NEXT remains application adaptation. As of now, there has been no news of WeChat completing native HarmonyOS adaptation. Without WeChat, the appeal of the HarmonyOS NEXT system will be significantly diminished for users.

To address the issue of applications that are yet to be adapted, Huawei will provide a virtual machine transition solution, allowing APK apps to run in a virtual environment. This will allow developers more time for new system adaptation development, while also enabling users to seamlessly use necessary applications within the new system.

The commencement of the HarmonyOS NEXT public beta marks a significant step for Huawei in the operating system realm. The future development of HarmonyOS NEXT, and its ability to truly replace the Android system, will require time to assess. However, it is certain that the launch of HarmonyOS NEXT will bring new user experiences and further propel the advancement of domestic operating systems.