Huawei unveils HarmonyOS PCs: foldable design, full-stack control, cross-device ecosystem

Huawei, on May 19, 2025, launched its first personal computers powered by HarmonyOS, after five years of development involving more than 10,000 engineers. The MateBook Pro and MateBook Fold Ultimate Design are the first laptops to run HarmonyOS 5, marking a pivotal moment in China's drive for full-stack operating system autonomy in the PC sector.

The MateBook Fold is the world's first foldable-screen laptop powered by HarmonyOS, redefining the portable computing experience with its innovative form factor.

Speaking at the Chengdu launch event, Richard Yu, executive director and head of Huawei's Consumer BG, said the MateBook Fold overcomes the long-standing tradeoff between display size and portability. "We've ushered in a new era of portable all-in-one PCs," he stated.

The Fold measures just 7.3mm thick and weighs only 1.16kg. When unfolded, it reveals an 18-inch 3.3K OLED display with a peak brightness of 1,600 nits. It's also the first commercial laptop to feature both dual-layer OLED and dual LTPO display technologies, significantly enhancing visual clarity and power efficiency.

Credit: AFP

From display tech to software architecture, Huawei controls it all

The Huawei MateBook Fold incorporates a next-generation "Xuanwu" droplet hinge system engineered for large-format foldables. At 285mm, it is the world's largest commercial foldable hinge, overcoming the structural deformation challenges common in oversized mechanisms.

According to Zol.com.cn and Xinhua, the hinge features an ergonomic water droplet-shaped design for smooth multi-angle folding and stable positioning. It uses a three-stage mortise-and-tenon mechanism, paired with a load-bearing shaft made of zirconium-based liquid metal, vacuum-cast at nearly 1,000°C (1,832°F) for high durability and strength.

This structural innovation enables Huawei to maintain hinge integrity within an ultra-slim chassis. Combined with dual 3.5mm aluminum-alloy fans and a gravity-assisted vapor chamber cooling system, the device delivers sustained performance without compromising portability or thermal efficiency.

As reported by Securities Times, HarmonyOS 5 has been comprehensively reengineered for the PC environment, with upgrades across the kernel, file system, developer tools, graphics engine, and AI assistant, enabling near-instant boot, launch, and wake-up times.

Huawei has filed over 2,700 patents tied to the MateBook Fold and MateBook Pro, reflecting its vertically integrated approach to both hardware and software. HarmonyOS supports a "develop once, deploy anywhere" framework, allowing developers to target multiple device types with a single toolchain, streamlining development processes and resources.

The MateBook Pro is priced from CNY7,999 (US$1,108), while the MateBook Fold comes in two configurations: 32GB+1TB at CNY23,999 and 32GB+2TB at CNY26,999. Both models will be available starting June 6.

HarmonyOS ecosystem expands rapidly with growing app support

HarmonyOS 5 already supports over 1,100 peripheral devices, with its PC application ecosystem growing rapidly. According to HK01, HarmonyOS-compatible apps surged from 300 to more than 1,000 in just a few weeks since early May.

Huawei projects HarmonyOS PCs will support over 2,000 applications by the end of 2025, spanning productivity, design, entertainment, finance, and education.

Key apps already optimized for HarmonyOS PCs include WPS Office, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, QQ, Feishu, WeChat, and ZWCAD. Notably, WPS was rebuilt from 40 million lines of code and resolved over 500 technical challenges, adding features like dual-screen presenter mode and one-click AI-generated slides specifically for the MateBook Fold.

With its native distributed architecture, HarmonyOS enables seamless integration across devices using Huawei's distributed bus technology, supporting shared keyboard and mouse functionality, task continuity, and Huawei Share across phones, tablets, and PCs.

Huawei's AI assistant Xiaoyi can rapidly summarize documents and generate meeting notes, enhancing productivity with real-time, on-device intelligence.

Huawei shipped 4.3 million PCs in the first quarter of 2025, capturing an 11% share of China's PC market and ranking second overall, according to Canalys. GfK further reported that Huawei led the domestic lightweight notebook segment.

Huawei executive director and head of Huawei's Consumer BG, Richard Yu. Credit: DIGITIMES

From smartphone to laptop, building a unified ecosystem

Initially launched on smartphones, HarmonyOS now holds a 19% share of China's mobile OS market, outperforming iOS for four straight quarters, according to Counterpoint Research. Its expansion to PCs marks a major milestone in Huawei's ambition to build a unified, cross-device software ecosystem.

Yicai reported that Huawei also launched its first business laptop powered by HarmonyOS, the Qingyun HM940, alongside the "Qingyun Galaxy Program" to accelerate adoption in enterprise and government innovation use cases.

While Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS dominate the global PC OS market, Huawei sees HarmonyOS's distributed architecture and low-latency cross-device capabilities as key differentiators for building a robust, self-sustaining software ecosystem in China.

"We've chosen to do the hard but right things," said Yu. "Every line of code is rewriting the future of China's PC industry."

Article edited by Jerry Chen