The Mate 40 series could be the end of an era for Huawei in more ways than one. Huawei’s Kirin chips are already rumoured to be on the out and it now seems like EMUI could be reaching a climax – with a Harmony-flavoured transition.
Early in September, Huawei CEO Richard Yu hinted HarmonyOS would be coming to phones sooner rather than later and a new interview has hinted EMUI 11 has already been designed with the transition in mind.
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The news comes via an interview with Wang Chenglu, head of software developer at Huawei Consumer Business Group, conducted by MyDrivers.
In the interview, Wang Chenglu responds to a question about the simultaneous development of EMUI 11 and Hongmeng (Harmony) OS by explaining the latest version of EMUI has become “closer and closer” to Hongmeng and utilises the same framework.
The quotes by Wang Chenglu follow CEO Richard Yu’s earlier this year, who stated that the SDK for the smartphone version of Harmony OS would be available before the end of the year. All this points towards an impending end for EMUI, with the 11th iteration looking like it could be the last.
However, with EMUI already running on a similar framework to HarmonyOS, the difference that consumers experience after the transition may not be all that different – unless, Huawei chooses to make a song and dance over it.
Not a whole lot is currently known about the benefits of HarmonyOS but, with the operating system being used across Huawei’s suite of products outside of phones, the aim appears to be deeper integration across devices.
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The Mate 40 series was recently revealed – sporting EMUI 11 – and we got to go hands-on with the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. Deputy Editor Max Parker said of the new phone: “fairly pedestrian looks and app situation aside, the Mate 40 Pro is a powerhouse that could be one of the best camera phones around.”
Along with the new camera chops, impressive design and ongoing Google woes, the Mate 40 series stands out for sporting the first 5nm chip with integrated 5G and the first 5nm chip on phones outside of Apple’s iPhone 12 – beating Android devices to the punch.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
