Huawei is currently hosting a developer conference where it unveiled a new version of its operating system m. This is the fourth release in a row, the key features of which are a significant visual redesign and new personalization options for smartphones, tablets and smartwatches. The HarmonyOS ecosystem currently supports over 700 million devices worldwide, from smartphones to TVs and cars.
HarmonyOS 4 gives you the ability to change system fonts, colors, clock styles, and widgets. Users can also set emoji wallpapers and create unique home screens. Huawei has updated the emoji pack and added even more animations. For example, you can set a screen saver that will display animated images on your lock screen that match the weather in real time.
The Notification Center has also received an overhaul. You can now split alerts based on user preferences. Now you can pin notifications of certain applications and interact with them directly from the notification panel without opening the application itself. HarmonyOS 4 brings its own version of Apple’s Dynamic Island. The feature is called Live Window, supported apps will display real-time notifications in the form of a tablet. You can expand it by clicking on it. This feature will come to smartphones, tablets and smartwatches. It will initially work with Huawei apps and later with some third party apps. The list will be updated.
Huawei has added more options for widgets of different sizes that can be placed on the home screen. The system-wide copy feature allows you to merge multiple files, images, and even individual pieces of text and transfer them between apps and supported devices on HarmonyOS. The Continuity feature has been extended to infotainment systems running on HarmonyOS, allowing content and other apps to be streamed onto the car’s screen.
Under the hood of HarmonyOS 4 is an updated Ark Engine that is claimed to deliver a 20% performance boost, faster app launches, and smoother animations while using less power. Work has also been carried out in terms of optimizing security parameters.
The HarmonyOS 4 public beta is now available for 34 Huawei devices. Later, 35 more devices will join the beta testing program, including Huawei P40, Mate 30, nova 9 and nova 10.
