China’s Huawei Technologies will not support Android apps in the latest version of its in-house Harmony operating system, as the company looks to strengthen its own software ecosystem, domestic financial media Caixin reported.

The company plans to introduce a developer version of its HarmonyOS Next platform in the second quarter of this year, followed by a full commercial version in the fourth quarter, the company said, highlighting the platform’s launch event in its home city. said in a statement. Shenzhen on Thursday.

Huawei first unveiled its proprietary Harmony system in 2019 and is preparing to launch it on some smartphones a year after US sanctions cut off access to Google’s technical support for its Android mobile OS.

However, according to Caixin, earlier versions of Harmony allowed apps made for Android to be used on the system, which will no longer be possible.

Huawei did not respond to a request for comment.

Last August, Huawei unexpectedly launched its Mate60 series of smartphones, which is believed to be powered by a domestically developed chipset.

The release was widely seen as Huawei’s return to the high-end smartphone market after years of struggling under US sanctions.

The company expects revenue to exceed 700 billion yuan ($97.3 billion) in 2023, an increase of 9% year-on-year, according to an internal message last month.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)