Introduction: On May 8, 2025, Huawei's first pure-blooded HarmonyOS laptop was officially released. This product is by no means just an ordinary member of many laptops on the market, but a window that clearly shows us that the domestic PC industry chain is undergoing a profound and all-round change. It is supported by independent research and development of core technology, breaking the external technology blockade, and striding towards the high-end field of the global PC industry.
Ⅰ Technological innovation: a breakthrough in domestic 7nm chips
One of the core highlights of Huawei's HarmonyOS laptop is that it is equipped with a Kirin X90 processor based on TSMC's improved 7nm process, which has achieved a 67% improvement in multi-core performance compared with the previous generation of products, and the AI computing power has exceeded 30 TOPS. This marks a major breakthrough in the field of high-performance computing for domestic chips. The advantages of Kirin chips in the field of communication and AI bring smooth multitasking and powerful AI capabilities to users, which greatly improves office efficiency and meets the high-load work needs of professional creators. SMIC continues to make breakthroughs in 7nm chip foundry technology, with a yield rate of more than 65%, providing a solid foundation for the large-scale production of domestic high-end chips. In addition, the production capacity of domestic DUV lithography machines has also been continuously improved, reaching 3,000 wafers per month, to meet the growing market demand, which is behind the technical research of a large number of scientific researchers day and night, countless complex experimental verifications, and brave breakthroughs in the international technology blockade. This breakthrough has won valuable strategic space for the development of China's chip industry, and has also contributed to the diversified development of the global semiconductor industry.
Pictured: Huawei's pure-blooded HarmonyOS computer debuted
Ⅱ Application Ecology: The experience of full-scene integration
The release of Huawei's HarmonyOS laptop marks a key step in the construction of the application ecosystem of the HarmonyOS system. With the advantages of its distributed architecture, the HarmonyOS system realizes the seamless interconnection and collaboration between multiple devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and PCs. Users can edit photos or videos taken by their mobile phones directly on their laptops with simple operations without the need for a cumbersome transfer process. At present, Huawei's HarmonyOS PC application ecosystem is in a stage of rapid development, with more than 15,000 commonly used applications adapted, covering various fields such as office, education, and entertainment. Among them, WPS Office, Tencent Meeting and other commonly used office software perform particularly well on the HarmonyOS system, providing a smooth experience comparable to the Windows system. Huawei has also actively cooperated with developers and launched a variety of preferential policies and development support programs, attracting more developers to join the construction of the HarmonyOS ecosystem. For example, Huawei has set up a special fund to provide technical support and training to developers to help them quickly master the development skills of the HarmonyOS system. This strategy not only enriches the application ecology of HarmonyOS PC, but also provides a broad space for developers to innovate. The active participation of developers has brought more creative and practical applications to the HarmonyOS system, further meeting the diverse needs of users.
Figure: Huawei's pure-blooded HarmonyOS ecosystem has been further improved (picture from the Internet)
Ⅲ Market prospects: a strong driving force for government and enterprise procurement
In the global PC market pattern, the emergence of Huawei HarmonyOS laptops has brought a strong new force. According to data from market research firm Statcounter, as of February 2025, Windows accounts for 70.65% of the global PC operating system market, macOS accounts for about 16%, and Linux has a share of about 3.8%. Although the market share of Huawei's HarmonyOS system is relatively small, its growth potential is huge. The procurement needs of the government and enterprise markets have provided strong support for the promotion of HarmonyOS laptops. As the country attaches great importance to information security and independent controllability, a number of government departments and large state-owned enterprises have put the replacement plan of domestic PCs on the agenda. For example, 12 national ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, have taken the lead in launching the "HarmonyOS PC Replacement Program". The first batch of purchases reached 500,000 units. In addition, large central enterprises such as China Merchants Bank and State Grid have also made it clear that they will gradually realize the localization of office terminals in the next three years. In the consumer market, Huawei HarmonyOS laptops have also attracted more and more attention and recognition from consumers due to their unique features and good user experience. Especially among young consumers, they have a higher sense of identity with domestic technology products and a stronger acceptance of new technologies, which has become an important force to promote the growth of HarmonyOS notebook sales.
Ⅳ The influence of the industrial chain: a new situation of coordinated development
The release of Huawei's HarmonyOS notebook has driven the all-round development of the domestic PC industry chain and promoted the collaborative progress of chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, and complete machine manufacturing. In the field of chip design, Huawei's HiSilicon R&D team has successfully designed the Kirin X90 processor based on years of technology accumulation and innovation. This chip adopts advanced architecture and process technology, setting a new benchmark for domestic chip design. In order to meet the production demand of Kirin X90 chips, SMIC has increased its investment and construction of advanced process production lines, and improved the automation level and production efficiency of the production lines. At the same time, SMIC has also strengthened cooperation with domestic raw material suppliers and equipment manufacturers to promote the development of domestic semiconductor materials and equipment. In the field of complete machine manufacturing, Huawei has cooperated with a number of well-known domestic PC manufacturers to jointly build Huawei HarmonyOS laptops. These manufacturers strictly control the quality in the production process, and use advanced production technology and technology to ensure the high quality of the products. For example, BOE provided the world's first 14-inch 4K HarmonyOS screen for Huawei HarmonyOS laptops, with a touch sampling rate of up to 240Hz, bringing users the ultimate visual experience. At the same time, YMTC launched a domestic enterprise-class PCIe 5.0 SSD, with a read and write speed of more than 14GB/s, which greatly improved the storage performance of the whole machine. This kind of close cooperation between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain has formed a virtuous circle of development ecology, which has laid a solid foundation for the long-term development of the domestic PC industry.
Ⅴ Future prospects: the rise of domestic PCs
The successful release of Huawei's HarmonyOS laptop is just a starting point in the rise of the domestic PC industry. In the future, Huawei will continue to increase R&D investment and continuously improve the performance and user experience of its products. On the one hand, Huawei will accelerate the innovative application of the HarmonyOS system in the PC field, further improve the application ecosystem, and provide users with richer and more convenient functions and services. For example, Huawei plans to double the size of HarmonyOS PC's application ecosystem in the next two years, attracting more developers to join and launch more innovative applications. On the other hand, Huawei will strengthen cooperation with upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain to jointly overcome key technical problems and enhance the overall competitiveness of the domestic PC industry. For example, Huawei and SMIC plan to launch Kirin chips based on more advanced process technology in 2026 to further narrow the gap with the world's leading level. Looking forward to the future, the domestic PC industry will continue to make efforts in technological innovation, application ecological construction and market expansion, gradually break the monopoly of foreign technology, and achieve from "following" to "running" and then to "leading". Leapfrogging. In this process, Huawei HarmonyOS notebook will play an important leading role and drive the entire domestic PC industry chain to a more brilliant future. We have reason to believe that with the continuous rise of the domestic PC industry, China will occupy a more important position in the global semiconductor industry and contribute more Chinese strength to the development of global science and technology.
Conclusion: The release of Huawei's HarmonyOS notebook is an important milestone for the domestic PC industry to move towards independent, controllable and high-end development. It is equipped with a domestic 7nm chip, highlighting China's technological breakthrough in the field of semiconductors; The application ecology of full-scenario integration brings a new experience to users; The strong impetus of government and enterprise procurement has laid a solid foundation for market promotion; The coordinated development of the industrial chain has promoted the overall upgrading of the domestic PC industry. In the future, Huawei HarmonyOS PC will continue to lead the development of the domestic PC industry chain, move towards higher goals, and inject a steady stream of impetus into the rise of China's technology industry.
