Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are currently used in the vast majority of mobile phones, but Huawei is looking to change that with its new Mate 70 devices, which run on the company’s HarmonyOS Next.

The launch caps a major turnaround in the fortunes of Huawei, which saw its wings clipped by grueling US sanctions in recent years but has since rebounded with soaring sales.

“The search for a viable and scalable mobile operating system, largely free from the control of Western companies, has been a long one in China,” Paul Triolo, China partner and head of technology policy at the within the consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group.

But the new smartphone – also powered by an advanced chip produced domestically – shows that Chinese technology companies can “persevere”, he said.

The Mate 70 is expected to be unveiled at a company launch event on Tuesday afternoon at the Shenzhen headquarters.

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More than three million have been pre-ordered, according to Huawei’s online shopping platform, although this does not require their purchase.

The risks are high: Unlike a previous iteration, based on Android’s open source code, HarmonyOS Next requires a complete rewiring of all the apps on the smartphones it powers.

“HarmonyOS Next is the first operating system developed in China, an important step for China to move away from its reliance on Western technologies for performance-enhancing software,” Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis.

But “while Chinese companies may be willing to allocate resources to contribute to Huawei’s ecosystem, it is unclear whether HarmonyOS Next can offer the same number of apps and features to consumers around the world.” , Ng said.

Huawei has found itself at the center of an intense technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington, with US officials warning that its equipment could be used for espionage on behalf of Chinese authorities – allegations they deny.

Since 2019, U.S. sanctions have cut Huawei off from global supply chains for U.S.-made technology and components, a move that initially curbed its smartphone production.

That fight will only intensify under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised huge tariffs on Chinese imports in response to what he sees as Beijing’s unfair trade practices.

“Rather than Huawei not inspiring the technology industry as a whole, it is the trend toward self-reliance in China’s technology industry that has made Huawei’s progress possible,” Toby Zhu told AFP , senior analyst at technology research firm Canalys.

The success of Huawei’s new generation of smartphones will be a key indicator of the success of this initiative, Zhu said.

“This generation of products cannot afford to miss the mark because everyone has high expectations of them,” he added.

Huawei was once China’s largest smartphone maker before becoming embroiled in a tech war between Washington and Beijing.

The company shipped more than 10.8 million smartphone units in the third quarter, accounting for just 16% of the Chinese market, according to a recent Canalys report.

And it’s unclear whether foreign developers will be willing to spend the money to create an entirely new version of their apps for the latest smartphones, Rich Bishop, co-founder and CEO of AppInChina, told AFP , an international software company in China.

A third-party agency in China quoted a price of two million yuan ($275,500) to customize a foreign app for HarmonyOS Next, he said.

To convince them, “Huawei needs to continually improve its software, provide better developer support, and convince the developer community that it is committed to the long-term development of the Harmony ecosystem,” Triolo said.