Huawei ditches Windows, launches first laptop with HarmonyOS

Latest Huawei laptop is packed with artificial intelligence features, including Huawei’s own AI assistant, Celia
An undated image. — Dreamstime
An undated image. — Dreamstime 

In a move marking a stepping stone for Huawei to become independent with the operating system powering its laptops, the company has finally launched its first laptop running on HarmonyOS, its own self-developed operating system.

The launch of Huawei laptops with HarmonyOS comes shortly after the expiry of its Microsoft Windows licence for personal computers (PCs) earlier this year in March.

Features of Huawei's new HarmonyOS laptop

Showcased earlier this week, the new Huawei laptop is powered by HarmonyOS 5, also known as HarmonyOS Next, while most of Huawei’s laptops have so far debuted and shipped with Windows, with some variants supporting Linux OS.

The latest Huawei laptop is packed with artificial intelligence (AI) features, including Huawei’s AI assistant, Celia.

According to Zhu Dongdong, Huawei’s president of tablets and PCs, Celia can help users create presentations, summarise meetings, and retrieve information from inside documents if the required third-party software is installed.

The HarmonyOS ecosystem for PCs is compatible with various applications designed for both professional and personal use.

Major apps on the device include WPS Office, a Chinese alternative to Microsoft Office, and DingTalk, Alibaba Group’s enterprise collaboration tool, among over 2,000 apps slated to be offered on Huawei's new HarmonyOS laptop.

It's worth noting that HarmonyOS laptop's launch is an indication of Huawei's efforts to build its own technologies and reduce dependence on American software providers.