Huawei used AOSP, and Linux as a foundation for earlier versions of Harmony OS, but have since switched over to an entirely bespoke HongMeng kernel.

I'd personally rather it be FOSS but I'm still glad to have any sort of competition in the OS space. It should be normalized that all programs should just have to compile themselves into different versions for all OSes. The more OSes other than Windows we have the more companies will want this. I think Unity game engine already does this where it gives you a Linux, Mac, and Windows executable by default.

But it being closed source makes sense for its usecase too. The Chinese Government want this to be used in government there, just like Windows is in the US, and so they want the code locked down.

If I had to choose what OS to use my order of which ones I'd prefer probably goes:

GNU/Linux

FreeBSD

HarmonyOS

MacOS

Windows

I think the most important thing is that people realize Huawei is not making some Linux distro. They're not a small or medium sized company. They're a peer to Apple and Microsoft. An absolute behemoth that can support their own entirely in house software stack+ hardware ecosystem. That's the real story here.

haram.

Huawei Technologies has launched its first desktop computer powered by its proprietary operating system, HarmonyOS, touting the device as “100 per cent domestically made” in its latest push for technological self-reliance.

The Shenzhen-based company on Thursday unveiled its Qinyun HM650 series desktop computers for enterprise and government users, powered by the self-developed Kirin X90 processor, which debuted in Huawei’s consumer laptops and tablets last year.

The Qinyun HM650 series runs on HarmonyOS V1.0, an enterprise version of Huawei’s self-developed operating system for computers. It marked the first time Huawei deployed the system on its desktop products, according to the company.