Huawei has officially entered the PC operating system market with the launch of HarmonyOS for computers, directly challenging the long-standing dominance of Windows and macOS. The company revealed HarmonyOS PC during an event in China on May 8, positioning it as a smarter, more secure alternative built entirely without Windows or Android foundations.
Unlike past product launches, Huawei made no early announcements or teasers. Instead, it quietly introduced the HarmonyOS PC, marking the full-scale entry into the “HarmonyOS era” for all Huawei devices.
The move signals the company’s clear intent to reshape China’s PC landscape, where Microsoft and Apple have traditionally held near-total control.
HarmonyOS vs macOS
HarmonyOS PC draws immediate comparisons to macOS in its interface and ecosystem thinking. Like macOS, it features a shortcut bar similar to the Dock, layered apps, dynamic wallpapers, and sleek transitions.
Where Apple focuses on continuity across its hardware, Huawei goes a step further with deep cross-device control, offering drag-and-drop windows between devices, real-time cursor movement through eye-tracking, and a shared clipboard across phones, tablets, and laptops.
AI is where Huawei leans in harder. HarmonyOS includes both Celia and Xiaoyi assistants, built to manage everything from real-time meeting transcription to document generation, language translation, and smart layouts. While macOS offers Siri and integrated machine learning, HarmonyOS positions its AI at the center of the experience, not as a background utility.
On privacy, Huawei introduces “super privacy mode,” chip-level encryption, and one-time app permissions—features that echo Apple’s security-first design but add new layers. The StarShield architecture, paired with real-name app authentication and off-device tracking, reflects a system built for a climate of high security expectations.
App Ecosystem and Performance
macOS has long thrived on its optimized software-hardware balance and deep app ecosystem. Huawei still has ground to cover here, but the company claims over 150 PC-optimized apps and 2,000 universal ones already in the HarmonyOS ecosystem.
Tools like ArkTS, ArkUI, and DevEco aim to give developers tighter control and faster performance, while the Ark graphics engine delivers smoother multi-window support—Huawei says it’s 32% better than current systems.
As reported during the HarmonyOS Computer Technology and Ecosystem Communication Event in China, HarmonyOS 5 supports over 1,000 external devices across 20 categories. That includes both standard peripherals like keyboards and monitors and more niche hardware like scanners and label printers.
The first HarmonyOS PC officially launches in China on May 19, 2025. Huawei calls it the start of a “One as All, All as One” approach—an ecosystem built for native, device-to-device fluency.
For Apple users in China, it’s the clearest signal yet that macOS will face real competition on its turf, not just from Windows, but from a fast-rising domestic rival with control over both software and hardware.