Huawei has confirmed it will bring HarmonyOS NEXT — its Android-free operating system, to global smartphone markets, though no launch date or rollout schedule has been set. The announcement came during a media roundtable with Richard Yu, Director of Huawei Consumer Business and Executive Director at Huawei, who described the expansion as a ‘gradual’ and ‘step by step’ effort. Not an imminent switch. It is not yet clear whether this means new global phones running HarmonyOS NEXT out of the box, or a phased software update for existing devices outside China. Huawei’s current smartphones sold outside China still ship with EMUI atop Android. Only in China does Huawei sell phones with HarmonyOS NEXT preinstalled, a shift that began in 2024 after U.S. Sanctions cut off access to Google Mobile Services and later, Android licensing. That domestic version now powers over 90 million Huawei devices in China, backed by 450,000 apps, 11 million developers, and 23,000 app innovation partners. Yu acknowledged the difficulty of building a competitive OS from scratch, citing failed predecessors like Windows Phone, Samsung’s bada, and Nokia’s Symbian. But said Huawei’s ecosystem scale proves it has ‘succeeded’. No hardware, pricing, or regional availability details were given. What’s certain: this is not a 2026 launch. It’s a strategic signal, one that puts pressure on Google and Apple while leaving global consumers waiting for concrete next steps. Huawei says the next move is ecosystem growth, not device shipments.