Chapter 962
The Three Kingdoms of Operating Systems
Mid-November, top-floor conference room at Galaxy Technology headquarters.
Wang Donglai sat in the main seat, with three documents spread out in front of him.
On the left is the global installation data report for HarmonyOS in the fourth quarter. The bolded numbers on the cover, "Cumulative number of activated devices exceeds 900 million," are particularly eye-catching under the light.
In the middle is a briefing on the lunar landing mission just sent by GalaxySpace. The launch window for Pioneer 2 is set for mid-December.
On the right is an encrypted communication record, with only the words "HarmonyOS-Apple Strategic Cooperation Negotiation" printed on the cover. There is no date or name of the attendees, only a small line of text at the bottom: "For core members of the board of directors only."
The long table was filled with people on both sides.
Zhang Yizu rushed back from Shenzhen, the data panel of Douyin's backend still lit up on the tablet in front of him, but he didn't care to look at it at the moment.
Liao Qingfeng presented Xuanwu Battery's latest global supply distribution table, with a number circled in red on the cover. Apple's order volume is expected to increase significantly in the fourth quarter, and the reason is self-evident.
Liang Song had the yield rate statistics of the chips that Galaxy Semiconductor had just started mass production under his arm, and was flipping through a standard-setting invitation letter from an industry association. He put it down again after flipping through half of it.
Huang Zheng's notebook was filled with feedback data from the pilot program of PinYiDao's overseas business, but he held the pen but didn't write a single word.
Sitting at the far end against the wall is Chen Yuanzhou, the vice president in charge of building the HarmonyOS ecosystem.
He was in his early sixties, with gray hair, and wore a pair of reading glasses with the temples tied to his neck with a black rope.
Having worked in the operating system field for nearly forty years, from the earliest domestic systems to the later HarmonyOS, I have experienced every wave of industrial transformation and witnessed the reefs left behind after each wave receded.
The report in front of him was the thickest, its pages worn and frayed from being turned so many times. Inside were sticky notes of several colors, each covered with dense technical annotations.
"President Chen, please report on the current situation of HarmonyOS." Wang
Donglai placed the capacitive pen on the table, leaned back slightly, and looked at Chen Yuanzhou.
Chen Yuanzhou stood up and walked to the giant screen at the front of the conference room.
He didn't use a laser pointer; he simply swiped his finger across the screen to bring up a set of data charts.
His fingers were somewhat rough, with calluses on his knuckles from years of typing, but his touch on the screen was exceptionally precise, as if he had rehearsed the data countless times in his mind and his fingers were simply following his memory.
"Everyone, I'd like to give you an update on the current overall status of the HarmonyOS system."
His voice was steady, with the solidity characteristic of an old engineer; every number sounded as if it had been weighed repeatedly before being uttered.
"As of mid-November, the cumulative number of activated devices for HarmonyOS worldwide has exceeded 900 million, with the exact figure being 917 million. Mobile devices account for about 60%, with the remainder being tablets, in-vehicle systems, smart home devices, industrial equipment, and public service terminals. At this time last year, the number of activated devices had just exceeded 500 million, meaning that the increase in one year is more than 80%. This growth rate is unprecedented for any operating system in the world."
He switched to a set of growth curves, and three lines of different colors popped up on the screen: blue for HarmonyOS, gray for Android, and silver for iOS.
The trend over the past eight quarters is clear: Android's gray curve has been slowly declining from a high level, iOS's silver curve has almost become a flat line, and only HarmonyOS's blue curve has maintained a stable upward angle, like three arrows in different directions.
"In terms of market share, the domestic smartphone operating system market has formed a relatively clear three-way split. Android's market share in China has fallen from its peak to just over 40%, while we account for about 30%, and iOS is less than 20%. The situation where Android dominated the domestic market three years ago is no longer the case. More importantly, there is the growth trend. Android's market share has dropped by several percentage points in the past year, iOS has remained stagnant, and only we are growing."
He paused, then pulled up a more detailed disassembly diagram.
"Globally, Android still holds the majority of the market share due to its existing user base, mainly concentrated in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. iOS has maintained its position in the high-end market in North America and Western Europe, with a stable global market share of around 20%. We currently hold a little over 10%, but the growth curve shows that Android's market share has been declining over the past four quarters, iOS has stagnated, and only HarmonyOS is growing at a rate of more than one percentage point per quarter. If we maintain this growth rate, our global market share is expected to approach 20% by the end of next year."
Liang Song adjusted his glasses, quickly jotted down the predicted number in his notebook, and marked it with an emphasis mark. "The results on the mobile app aren't what I really want to talk about."
Chen Yuanzhou switched to the next set of data charts and said, "Smartphones are the starting point of HarmonyOS, but they are never the end. The coverage of IoT devices is HarmonyOS's true moat. In China, we are currently close to 70% coverage. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, robot vacuums, smart door locks, and other smart home devices within the HarmonyOS ecosystem can be connected to the network with a single click from a smartphone, a rate that far exceeds that of similar products on Android and iOS. Users no longer need to download separate control apps, no longer need to repeatedly enter Wi-Fi passwords, and no longer need to endure compatibility issues between different brands. As long as the device has the HarmonyOS logo, a simple tap with the phone completes all the settings automatically."
He circled several key numbers on the screen. "On the in-vehicle infotainment system side, BYD's Yangwang series, Huawei's Wenjie series, and Xiaomi's upcoming SU7 have all been fully equipped with the HarmonyOS in-vehicle system. Users can set their navigation destination on their phones, get into the car, and the navigation route will automatically flow to the in-vehicle screen without any additional operation. Mercedes-Benz and BMW's joint venture models are undergoing final compatibility testing, and it is expected that the adaptation will be completed in the first half of next year. Once these two traditional luxury brands are connected to the HarmonyOS in-vehicle system, the landscape of pre-installed in-vehicle infotainment systems in the domestic automotive market will be completely rewritten."
He turned to a new page in the report: "On the medical side, Galaxy Technology's upgraded version of the Bianque system has reached agreements with several top-tier hospitals in Tangdu. HarmonyOS devices can directly access the AI-assisted diagnostic module. The waiting time for radiology image reading has been significantly shortened, and the misdiagnosis rate for common diseases has decreased markedly. More importantly, this system is being deployed to community hospitals. A community doctor, using a tablet equipped with HarmonyOS, can make a preliminary diagnosis with AI assistance that is close to the level of a specialist outpatient clinic in a top-tier hospital. This is a true tiered medical system, relying not on administrative orders, but on technological capabilities."
He pulled up the last image, which was an organizational chart of the Alliance Council, densely labeled with the names of more than two hundred member units.
"I want to emphasize the importance of ecosystem co-construction. The success of HarmonyOS today is not solely due to Galaxy Technology. At the beginning of last year, we jointly launched the HarmonyOS Ecosystem Alliance with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The initial members numbered in the dozens, and it has now expanded to more than 200 organizations. From Huawei's communication modules to Xiaomi's smart home product line, from BYD's automotive terminals to BOE's high refresh rate screen driver adaptation, from Huawei HiSilicon's chip-level optimization to the embedded development boards of various small and medium-sized equipment manufacturers, the entire domestic industry chain, from upstream to downstream, is actively and deeply integrating its products with HarmonyOS."
He circled several key points on the screen with his finger.
"More importantly, there's the open-source strategy. After we open-sourced the entire HarmonyOS kernel and basic capability libraries, small and medium-sized developers in China can directly customize it based on our code. Industrial tablet manufacturers can rewrite the underlying drivers themselves, cash register manufacturers can directly embed the payment module, educational terminals can call our AI voice engine, and logistics handheld devices can seamlessly integrate with Xinghuo Express's order system. This kind of flexibility is something a closed-source ecosystem can never provide. Last year, the open-source community contributed about four million lines of code, and this year it is expected to exceed ten million lines. What does this mean? It means that tens of thousands of developers are no longer just HarmonyOS users, but HarmonyOS co-builders."
He closed the report, took off his reading glasses and let them hang on his chest, swaying gently. His voice suddenly lowered, no longer as steady and restrained as when he was reporting the data, but instead carried a profound feeling that only someone who had witnessed the entire industry transformation could have.
"Everyone, I've spent most of my life working on operating systems, from the earliest domestic systems to later customized versions of Linux, and now HarmonyOS. I've experienced every stage, and at each stage, there have been hopes and disappointments. But this time is different. This time, it's not a single company fighting alone, but the entire domestic industry chain working side by side. Three years ago, when we decided to open-source HarmonyOS, many people didn't understand, saying that we were filling in our own moat. But three years later, this moat has not only not been filled in, but has been dug wider and deeper by two hundred partners. This is the most fundamental reason why HarmonyOS has come this far. It's not that we are smarter than others, but that we are more willing to believe in the power of cooperation."
Chen Yuanzhou sat back down, and the conference room fell silent for a moment.
Liao Qingfeng put down the supply allocation sheet in his hand and clapped lightly. The applause started sporadically from both sides of the long table, then grew louder and louder, and finally merged into a continuous sound.
It wasn't the kind of polite applause we'd expect; it was heartfelt respect for an old engineer who had dedicated most of his life to his work.
Wang Donglai's voice broke the lingering applause.
"With over 900 million installations and nearly 70% of IoT devices connected, no one would have believed this achievement three years ago. When we took over HarmonyOS from Huawei three years ago, it was just a backup plan. The codebase was incomplete, the application ecosystem was almost non-existent, and even Huawei's own engineers didn't quite believe it could support an independent operating system. When the news of the acquisition came out, the industry was scornful. Now it has become the world's third largest mobile operating system and the only distributed system that can connect all devices from the bottom up."
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the conference room could hear the weighty significance in his tone.
"This isn't solely the achievement of Galaxy Technology. Mr. Chen is right; HarmonyOS's success today is due to strong policy support, the full cooperation of over two hundred member units in the alliance, the painful sacrifices made by domestic mobile phone manufacturers to bear huge adaptation costs, and the countless lines of code written by engineers working day and night. We only did our part; the rest was borne by the entire industry chain. Three years ago, we decided to relinquish control of HarmonyOS from Galaxy Technology and establish an alliance council, allowing each manufacturer to have corresponding voting rights based on their contributions. We only retained the leading role in the iteration of the core technical architecture. This decision was highly controversial at the time, but looking back now, it was probably the most correct decision we ever made. Because only when everyone feels that HarmonyOS is the master can HarmonyOS truly gain a foothold."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present.
"There is an even more important background. We are fortunate to live in such an era, an era that gives us the opportunity to catch up, but also the pressure to be caught up with. It is this pressure that has driven us to push the speed of technological iteration to the extreme. The 900 million devices of HarmonyOS are not existing assets that can be earned passively, but incremental growth created by countless people. What we are going to talk about next is how to make incremental growth even bigger."
He turned to Zhang Zuyi: "Let's talk about the latest developments on Apple's side. It's been almost two weeks since the anonymous Silicon Valley blogger posted the story. Cook hasn't denied it, but Wall Street has already confirmed it. This isn't a rumor; it's something Apple is doing. It's time to let the entire executive team know the full picture."
Zhang Yizu placed the capacitive pen on the table, stood up, walked to the screen, and displayed an encrypted file on the main screen.
The document cover is printed with "Minutes of Strategic Cooperation Negotiation between HarmonyOS and Apple", the date is marked as three days ago, and the security classification in the footer is marked as "Top Secret".
"On the Apple side, only Mr. Wang, the legal director, and I know the full picture of the negotiations. It all started two months ago when Cook sent a confidential letter through informal channels. The content was very brief. In his own words, 'Apple wants to loosen the exclusivity of iOS in the Chinese market, allowing users to freely choose whether to install iOS or HarmonyOS when they first turn on their devices.' In exchange, Apple demanded priority supply rights for Xuanwu batteries in the consumer electronics field and hoped to retain some of Apple's interaction design language within the HarmonyOS ecosystem, so that iPhones running HarmonyOS would still retain the familiar feel of iOS in terms of visuals and operating logic."
"Two weeks ago, an anonymous Silicon Valley blog suddenly posted a thread with the simple title, 'Cook is crazy, or the world is crazy.' The text consisted of only a few sentences, the gist of which was that the next-generation iPhone might allow users in some markets to freely choose between iOS and HarmonyOS upon startup. This post didn't attract much attention in the first few hours because it sounded too outrageous. But Apple didn't deny it." Zhang Byte pulled up a timeline and projected it onto the screen. Each entry was accompanied by a reliability assessment from the source. "According to Apple's consistent PR style, any rumors involving core product strategies are usually officially clarified or directly deleted within 24 hours. This time, Apple remained completely silent. There was no denial statement, no executives came forward to deny it, no lawyer's letters were sent to any tech media, and even Apple's official social media accounts continued to post iPhone photo samples and introductions to the health features of the new Apple Watch as usual, as if the rumor never existed. Silence itself is a signal. Wall Street analysts were the first to smell something unusual." (End of Chapter)