Huawei Phones in 2025: HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition Makes a Comprehensive Debut, Leading a New Operating System Landscape

Huawei Phones in 2025: HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition Makes a Comprehensive Debut, Leading a New Operating System LandscapeThe smartphone market in mid-2025 is fiercely competitive, with numerous brands launching new models. However, Huawei phones, fueled by continuous efforts in technological innovation and ecosystem development, are highly anticipated by consumers

Huawei Phones in 2025: HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition Makes a Comprehensive Debut, Leading a New Operating System Landscape

The smartphone market in mid-2025 is fiercely competitive, with numerous brands launching new models. However, Huawei phones, fueled by continuous efforts in technological innovation and ecosystem development, are highly anticipated by consumers. Particularly in the realm of the HarmonyOS operating system, Huawei demonstrates strong ambition, with the upcoming HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition generating significant attention.

The appeal of Huawei phones partly stems from technological breakthroughs in its Kirin processors and HarmonyOS. Kirin processors are renowned for their superior performance and efficiency, while HarmonyOS boasts a smooth user experience and seamless cross-device connectivity, winning over many users. The upcoming Huawei Enjoy 70X, reportedly equipped with the Kirin 8000A processor and supporting 5G-A and satellite communication technologies, further solidifies Huawei's hardware competitiveness.

However, even more noteworthy is the upgrade to the Huawei Mate70 series. Huawei plans to integrate the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition across the entire Mate70 lineup, a bold move in HarmonyOS ecosystem development and a significant step forward for the OS. The radical nature of this strategy lies in the fact that the native HarmonyOS ecosystem is not yet fully mature; the compatibility and functionality of some key applications still require improvement. While the current native HarmonyOS meets the daily needs of most users, those reliant on specific Android apps might still encounter some inconveniences a potential reason why some users choose to retain HarmonyOS 4.3.

Yet, the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition on the Huawei Mate70 series is not merely a simple system update. Official announcements confirm that multiple storage versions of the Mate70, Mate70 Pro, and Mate70 Pro+ will launch with the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition: 12+512GB and 12+1TB versions for the Mate70; 12+512GB and 12+1TB versions for the Mate70 Pro; and 16+512GB and 16+1TB versions for the Mate70 Pro+. Notably, the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition will maintain the same price as HarmonyOS 4.3, meaning consumers can experience the new system without extra cost.

However, Huawei customer service has previously stated that the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition does not support manual rollback to HarmonyOS 4.3. This information prompts consumers to carefully consider the trade-off between the enhanced experience offered by the new system and potential drawbacks. Huawei's move demonstrates its determination to propel HarmonyOS ecosystem development and foreshadows a significant future investment in its refinement.

Richard Yu previously announced that all new Huawei phones and tablets in 2025 will be equipped with the native HarmonyOS. To achieve this goal, Huawei is actively expanding the native HarmonyOS application ecosystem. Huawei aims to surpass 100,000 native HarmonyOS apps within the next six to twelve months. To this end, Huawei is collaborating actively with developers and introducing a series of incentives and development tools to attract more developers to build the HarmonyOS ecosystem.

It's noteworthy that previously, only the Huawei Mate70 Pro featured the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition. Its expansion to the entire series reflects Huawei's determination and confidence in pushing forward HarmonyOS ecosystem development.

Beyond the ecosystem's ongoing development, the native HarmonyOS excels in other areas. It boasts full-stack self-developed technologies, encompassing the OS kernel, programming language, compiler, database, AI architecture and large model, integrated development environment, and security architecture. This results in significant advantages in performance and security.

The HarmonyOS kernel, employing a full-scenario microkernel architecture, offers high flexibility and scalability, surpassing Linux in performance and laying a solid foundation for smooth operation and multi-device adaptation. Smoothness is a major highlight of native HarmonyOS. The Huawei Mate70 series update will further unleash the performance of the Kirin processor, enhancing user experience.

Furthermore, based on large-model and end-cloud collaborative technologies, native HarmonyOS introduces Super Celia, providing a more intelligent user experience. The Kirin 9020 processor and 5G-A technology in the Huawei Mate70 Pro series also provide strong hardware support for the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition.

Market data shows that HarmonyOS achieved a 17% market share in the Chinese smartphone market in Q1 2024, surpassing Apple's iOS for the first time and securing second place. HarmonyOS's market share is poised for further growth in 2025. Huawei's launch of the HarmonyOS NEXT Pioneer Edition at this juncture is a strategically sound move.

In the future, Huawei phones, tablets, and wearables will all come pre-installed with native HarmonyOS, and more older devices will gradually receive native HarmonyOS upgrades.

The success of Huawei's strategy hinges on the speed of HarmonyOS ecosystem development and user acceptance of the new system. Currently, Huawei is actively working on building the HarmonyOS ecosystem, and further positive developments are anticipated.