The deal comes as Huawei continues to compete with Apple's iOS and Google's Android in the Chinese market.

According to a Huawei representative, fellow partner JD.com will build the application on the next improved version of the operating system, which will feature support for switching to multiple usage purposes.

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The next version of HarmonyOS will not support Android apps.

Richard Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, said the partnership marks a new milestone for HarmonyOS.

With more and more Chinese internet companies emerging, Huawei is pushing for widespread adoption of its homegrown HarmonyOS operating system, which is expected to surpass Apple's iOS to become the second-largest operating system in China this year, according to Canadian research firm TechInsights.

According to TechInsights, while Google's Android and Apple's iOS continue to dominate the global smartphone operating system sector, HarmonyOS will gain an advantage over both American giants in the Chinese market, thanks to Huawei's revival with the Mate 60 smartphone model.

HarmonyOS was born as an alternative to Android since 2019, after the US Department of Commerce put Huawei on the “entity list”. Under this trade blacklist, the mainland tech giant is banned from buying US-origin software, chips and other technologies from suppliers without Washington’s approval.

HarmonyOS Next, which is expected to launch this year, will not support Android-based apps. A preview version of the operating system will be released in the first quarter of 2024, and Huawei is stepping up cooperation with other major Chinese companies to develop apps.

Ant Group, the financial technology arm of Alibaba Group Holding, said last month that it is building a new version of its mobile payments app Alipay based on HarmonyOS.

Meanwhile, JD.com, along with gaming giant NetEase and food delivery market leader Meituan, have also started hiring engineers to build native apps for HarmonyOS.

McDonald's China – with a network of more than 5,500 restaurants and over 200,000 employees – has become one of the first multinational food companies on the mainland to adopt HarmonyOS Next.

(According to SCMP)

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