Huawei launches first laptops using home-grown Harmony operating system
Huawei launched two new laptop models on Monday, the first sold with its own Harmony operating system, in a bid to take on well-established Western Big Tech rivals even as the United States seeks to limit its access to crucial chips.
Despite its emergence as the world's leading producer of tech hardware, China's development of computer operating systems has lagged behind Microsoft and Apple, whose Windows and macOS have cornered the global market for decades.
The new MateBook Fold and MateBook Pro both run on HarmonyOS 5, the latest version of an operating system Huawei Technologies began developing in 2015 and introduced five years later on its Mate series smartphones.
It began developing the laptop prototypes in 2021.
'The Harmony laptop gives the world a new choice,' Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei's consumer business group, said during a livestreamed launch event. 'We kept on doing the hard things but the right things.'
The base model of the MateBook Fold, which does not have a physical keyboard and offers an 18-inch OLED double screen when fully extended, will sell for 23,999 yuan ($3,328).
The MateBook Pro model, which uses a conventional laptop keyboard, is priced from 7,999 yuan.
Washington began restricting Huawei's access to U.S. technology in 2019 over national security concerns, pushing the company to build its own capacity to develop and produce chips and operating systems.
Huawei said the HarmonyOS for computers currently offers over 150 applications, including WPS Office from Kingsoft – an alternative to Microsoft's Office – and photo editing app Meitu Xiu Xiu.
By the end of 2024, over 7.2 million individual developers were developing apps for HarmonyOS, which was installed on over a billion devices, including smartphones and TVs, according to Huawei's latest annual report.
Huawei did not disclose which processing chip it had used to power the newly-launched laptops. But it said the computers' relatively high prices were the result of the cost of new manufacturing technology for the chipset.
Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the chip.
Reuters reported last year that the U.S. revoked licences that had allowed companies including Intel and Qualcomm to ship chips used for laptops and handsets to Huawei.
Republican lawmakers had been angered by the launch of Huawei's first AI-enabled laptop, which was powered by an Intel processor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
19 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Amazon lays off employees in Books division as part of cost-cutting plan
Amazon has announced a new round of job cuts, this time affecting its Books division. Fewer than 100 employees have been let go, including staff from Kindle operations and the popular book review platform, Goodreads. The company told Reuters the decision was aimed at improving efficiency and aligning with its long-term goals. 'We've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the Books organisation,' said an Amazon spokesperson. They added that the cuts were part of broader efforts to streamline operations. This is not the first time Amazon has reduced its workforce in recent months. Earlier layoffs have impacted several departments, such as the devices and services team, Wondery podcast unit, and its stores and communications staff. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been open about reducing 'unnecessary layers of management and internal bureaucracy.' His goal is to make the company more responsive and efficient in the face of changing economic conditions. Despite the job cuts, Amazon added around 4,000 roles in the first quarter of 2025. The latest round of layoffs was first reported by Business Insider, suggesting Amazon is continuing to make targeted changes to its workforce as part of its long-term strategy. P&G also announces major job cuts Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has also revealed plans to reduce its workforce by around 7,000 jobs — about 6 per cent of its total staff — over the next two years. This is part of a wider restructuring programme aimed at tackling uneven consumer demand and increased costs caused by tariff uncertainties. During the Deutsche Bank Consumer Conference in Paris, P&G executives mentioned they would also exit some product categories and brands in specific markets. The company said this restructuring could involve certain divestitures, though no specific details were shared. Wider job cuts across tech industry The tech sector continues to face widespread layoffs. According to layoff tracker Trueup, over 62,000 employees have lost their jobs across 284 companies during the first five months of 2025. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Intel have all announced significant job reductions. In May 2025 alone, more than 16,000 tech workers were laid off. The report also noted that nearly 240,000 tech employees lost their jobs in 2024. Analysts suggest that global economic uncertainty, high interest rates, inflation, and over-hiring during the pandemic are key reasons for the ongoing job cuts. Many companies are now focused on "right-sizing" their teams to match current levels of demand. Microsoft, Meta Google restructure workforces Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently addressed the issue in a company Town Hall. According to reports, Nadella explained that the latest layoffs were part of a 'reorganisation rather than performance'. Google has also steadily reduced its workforce throughout 2025. In May alone, the company laid off around 200 people from its Global Business Organisation. Earlier, roles were cut from its Pixel hardware, Android, Chrome, and Google Cloud teams. These changes are reportedly linked to automation and a shift in business priorities. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is also expected to lay off around 3,600 employees in 2025. The company stated that this is part of a performance-based restructuring initiative.
Mint
40 minutes ago
- Mint
Microsoft integrates AI shopping into Copilot app, bringing price tracking and smart comparisons
Microsoft has launched Copilot Shopping, an AI-enhanced shopping experience built into its Copilot app for web and mobile users, offering a streamlined end-to-end purchasing journey powered by artificial intelligence. The new feature is also expected to arrive on AI-powered desktop PCs in the near future. Announced during Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebrations, Copilot Shopping aims to transform the way users discover, compare, and buy products online. The system allows users to explore items based on natural language queries, track prices, view consumer reviews, and even complete purchases without ever leaving the app. According to a recent post by Microsoft Copilot's official account on X, the feature builds on the company's efforts to bring generative AI to everyday tasks. It comes shortly after similar initiatives by Google and OpenAI, which introduced AI shopping capabilities via Search and ChatGPT, respectively. Copilot Shopping works as a comprehensive virtual assistant that starts from product discovery and carries the user all the way to checkout. Users can ask specific or open-ended questions—such as 'What's the best smartwatch for fitness tracking?' or 'I'm starting to learn photography. What gear do I need?'—and the AI will respond with curated, interactive visual cards showing relevant products. These product listings include summaries, technical specifications, pros and cons, and user-generated reviews. Once a product is selected, Copilot compares prices across multiple retailers, showing users the most competitive rates. From there, shoppers can proceed to checkout natively within the app, avoiding the need to switch between different e-commerce platforms. One of the more innovative aspects of Copilot Shopping is its price tracking capability. The tool displays the historical price range of a product and allows users to set a preferred purchase price using a slider interface. If and when the product's price matches the desired level, the app sends a notification, prompting the user to finalise the purchase directly. Microsoft began testing the shopping feature last month, as reported by TestingCatalog. With its rollout now underway, the tech giant is positioning Copilot Shopping as an AI-first retail companion, offering both convenience and insight in an increasingly crowded e-commerce landscape.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
OpenAI to appeal New York Times suit demand asking to not delete any user chats
HighlightsOpenAI is appealing a court order requiring it to preserve ChatGPT output data indefinitely, citing conflicts with user privacy commitments. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman stated that the demand from The New York Times sets a bad precedent and compromises user privacy. The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for allegedly using its articles without permission to train the language model behind ChatGPT. OpenAI is appealing an order in a copyright case brought by the New York Times that requires it to preserve ChatGPT output data indefinitely, arguing that the order conflicts with privacy commitments it has made with users. Last month, a court said OpenAI had to preserve and segregate all output log data after the Times asked for the data to be preserved. "We will fight any demand that compromises our users' privacy; this is a core principle," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X on Thursday. "We think this (The Times demand) was an inappropriate request that sets a bad precedent." U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein was asked to vacate the May data preservation order on June 3, a court filing showed. The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The newspaper sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023, accusing them of using millions of its articles without permission to train the large language model behind its popular chatbot. Stein said in an April court opinion that the Times had made a case that OpenAI and Microsoft were responsible for inducing users to infringe its copyrights. The opinion explained an earlier order that rejected parts of an OpenAI and Microsoft motion to dismiss, saying that the Times' "numerous" and "widely publicised" examples of ChatGPT producing material from its articles justified allowing the claims to continue.
