Overview
- Huawei announced at HDC 2026 on Friday that it has released HarmonyOS 7 Developer Beta and published the HarmonyOS development kit 26.0.0 Beta1, which starts using semantic versioning (X.Y.Z) for API numbers to signal breaking changes and compatibility expectations for developers.
- The company reported that devices running HarmonyOS 6 have surpassed 66 million units and said HarmonyOS is now China’s second-largest smartphone operating system, supported by claims of more than 11 million registered developers and over 400,000 apps in AppGallery.
- Huawei highlighted device security and anti-loss tools in HarmonyOS 6, including a shutdown verification password, a remote 'lost mode' that locks devices and shows contact info, and an offline 'Find Network' that uses nearby Huawei devices to locate lost hardware.
- Company materials also promoted cloud-based shop-level positioning that it says covers thousands of major shopping districts, airports and stations, and IT coverage shared a Harmony NEXT (in‑vehicle) rollout plan with a developer Beta in June, an in-vehicle Beta in September, and consumer release targeted for December.
- The move to SemVer is meant to make upgrade risks clearer for third-party developers and could ease app maintenance, while Huawei’s usage and coverage claims come from its HDC announcements and have limited independent verification, so observers should watch for third‑party testing and developer feedback.