Huawei’s launch of HarmonyOS PCs signals a strategic leap amid global tech restrictions

As of March 2025, Huawei can no longer obtain Windows licenses, marking a turning point in its hardware and software strategy. This limitation follows the 2024 US export restrictions that completely cut Huawei from key PC chip suppliers such as Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. In response, Huawei has fast-tracked the development of its in-house operating systems and chipsets across mobile and PC categories, deepening its push toward technological self-reliance.

Huawei started transitioning to HarmonyOS in its smartphones and tablets in 2021, building on the foundation of its Kirin chipset. According to Canalys (now part of Omdia) data, Huawei shipped approximately 103 million HarmonyOS smartphones and 21 million tablets by the end of 2024. Of these, 46 million phones and 10.5 million tablets were shipped in 2024 alone, marking the growing adoption by both consumers and the developer community.

Huawei officially launched its first HarmonyOS 5-powered PCs in Mainland China on 19 May 2025, a watershed moment in its long-term goal to establish a fully self-sufficient hardware-software stack. The initial product line up includes two main models:

• MateBook Fold: a high-end foldable OLED notebook with an 18-inch 3.3K screen (folding to 13 inches), priced at RMB23,999 (approximately US$3,300).
• MateBook Pro: a conventional OLED-screen laptop starting at RMB7,999 (approximately US$1,100).

Both devices are believed to feature Huawei’s in-house Kirin X90 chipset, built with AI-capable NPU blocks, though Huawei has not publicly confirmed the chip model. Hardware highlights include ultra-thin and lightweight OLED displays, a proprietary “Star Shield” security architecture, AI applications and cross-device resources sharing and interoperability. In summary, there are three key highlights from the first HarmonyOS PC announcement.

1. Foldable design, in-house chips and enhanced security

Huawei’s first HarmonyOS PCs offer a novel form factor with the MateBook Fold. It demonstrates how Huawei is pushing beyond conventional laptop design—blending portability with power. These PCs also bring significant improvements in battery efficiency, thermal performance and security, leveraging Huawei’s control over both hardware and software.

2. AI integration and cross-device experiences

A standout feature is the deep integration of AI and device interoperability. HarmonyOS PCs can seamlessly interact with Huawei smartphones and tablets through its distributed architecture and Huawei Cloud, enabling real-time file, application and task continuity.

The onboard AI assistant, Celia, is built into HarmonyOS PCs to support tasks like meeting transcription, translation, research assistance, content creation and more. Huawei also extends AI into its tools to support software developers through its DevEco Studio and HarmonyOS SDK, highlighting its commitment to creating a competitive suite of experiences for its users.

3. Workarounds for a limited app ecosystem

At launch, Huawei confirmed support for over 1,000 applications, including 150 native PC apps, with a goal to surpass 2,000 by the end of 2025. However, key global software offerings—such as Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, MATLAB and other enterprise tools—are currently unavailable on HarmonyOS PCs.

To bridge this gap, Huawei is investing billions of RMB into its developer ecosystem, including incentives for successful developers who made contributions such as AI-powered coding tools, dedicated frameworks (for example, DevEco Studio, ArkUI, Ark Compiler), among others. These efforts are designed to accelerate app porting and native development across Huawei’s smartphones, tablets and PCs.

While Huawei’s HarmonyOS PC debut is technically ambitious, broad user adoption will hinge on how well it addresses several pressing challenges in the short and long term.

Short-term challenges for Huawei to address

• Defining clear user segments and competitive differentiation

Both Windows and macOS gained initial traction by serving clear user needs—Windows for business productivity, macOS for creative workflows. At this stage, HarmonyOS lacks a compelling value proposition for either consumer or commercial users. While its AI features and seamless device continuity are promising, their unique advantages must be clarified and demonstrated with real-world utility.

Huawei needs to align its product roadmap with segmented user needs—whether targeting students, government institutions, businesspeople or creative professionals—and build benchmark experiences or killer applications that rival existing platforms.

• Retaining legacy users and expanding domestic commercial markets

In 2024, Huawei shipped around 4.2 million PCs in China, including 3.8 million laptops. To retain this customer base during the transition, Huawei could offer incentives such as dual-boot support, discounts, trade-ins or service bundles to ease migration pain.

Meanwhile, Huawei can expand into government, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and regulated sectors that favor domestic solutions. These organizations may be more receptive to HarmonyOS PCs, especially when bundled with Huawei’s broader IT stack—servers, databases and Huawei Cloud.

Long-term imperatives for HarmonyOS success

The development of a robust and unique application ecosystem for HarmonyOS PCs will require longer-term investment. Apart from speeding up collaboration with the top software and application partners, Huawei can also leverage the market’s increasing focus on AI use cases with its full-stack strategy.

• Embracing the AI revolution in software and developer ecosystems

AI is reshaping how people interact with devices and software. Microsoft’s Copilot and Apple’s anticipated “Apple Intelligence” features are transforming productivity, search, collaboration, creation and more. Huawei must stay competitive by embedding generative AI across its ecosystem—not only in user-facing assistants like Celia but also in developer tools, search engines and collaborative software platforms.

The company’s success will hinge on how it uses AI to enhance developer productivity and forge deeper software partnerships, both domestically and globally, and then layering this over its in-house AI integration across the HarmonyOS device portfolio.

• Building on its AI advantages with unified distributed devices and data

Huawei’s long-standing “1+8+N” strategy—spanning phones, PCs, wearables, smart home devices and electronic vehicles systems—aims to replicate Apple’s ecosystem strength. Its distributed architecture allows for fluid interaction across devices. However, seamless data flow, synchronized AI experience and intuitive UI/UX design still need significant refinement to deliver a truly competitive advantage.

The integration of HarmonyOS across Huawei’s product portfolio offers a unique position, but its plan must be executed faster. Global competition with Apple, Microsoft and Intel will demand more than hardware innovation—it will require a superior software experience that makes switching worthwhile.

HarmonyOS PCs mark a bold new chapter—but the journey is just beginning

Huawei’s HarmonyOS PC launch is more than a hardware release; instead, it is a strategic pivot toward platform autonomy and technological sovereignty. The company is attempting to build a full-stack ecosystem—from silicon to software—that can stand on its own amid geopolitical constraints.

The innovations in AI, form factor and ecosystem integration are promising, but Huawei must now prove that HarmonyOS can meet the productivity and compatibility needs of today’s PC users. In parallel, it must cultivate a thriving developer ecosystem and maintain customer trust during the transition. Huawei’s roadmap toward HarmonyOS maturity will require careful product development, strategic GTM execution and a relentless focus on AI innovation. If successful, this could mark the beginning of a new contender in the global PC operating system landscape.