Huawei teases HarmonyOS Next smartphone with ‘new form factor’ as related stocks jump

Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba and Meituan are all optimising their apps for the coming device, according to Huawei executive Richard Yu

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Huawei is set to launch a new smartphone based on its self-developed mobile operating system next month. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:00pm, 26 Feb 2025

Huawei Technologies teased a new smartphone powered by its home-grown mobile platform HarmonyOS Next, sparking a guessing game on the Chinese technology giant’s next move and sending related stocks higher.

The company planned to unveil in March a handset with a “new form factor” as “the first [device] born out of the HarmonyOS Next ecosystem”, Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, said in a video on Monday.

The new smartphone would present breakthroughs in hardware, software and the app ecosystem, Yu said. He added that Huawei’s HarmonyOS partners – including Tencent Holdings, ByteDance, Alibaba Group Holding and Meituan – were optimising their apps for the coming device. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Huawei, which is barred from accessing US-origin technologies under Washington’s trade sanctions, has been pushing for the adoption of HarmonyOS Next, the latest iteration of its self-developed platform that no longer supports Android apps.

Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, speaks at the launch event of HarmonyOS Next in Shenzhen last October. Photo: Xinhua

Yu’s video has ignited speculation about Huawei’s next product. The handset could be a new type of foldable smartphone running on HarmonyOS Next, according to a report on Tuesday from news outlet China Star Market citing anonymous sources.