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Showing posts with label operating systems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label operating systems. Show all posts

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Apple to rebrand its operating systems

Major overhaul: Signage for the iPhone 16 in New York. Apple is making the change to bring consistency to its branding and move away from an approach that can be confusing to customers and developers. — Bloomberg

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc is planning the most sweeping change yet to its operating system names, part of a software overhaul that extends to all its devices.

The next Apple operating systems will be identified by year, rather than with a version number, according to sources.

That means the current iOS 18 will give way to “iOS 26”, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is still private.

Other updates will be known as iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26.

Apple is making the change to bring consistency to its branding and move away from an approach that can be confusing to customers and developers.

Today’s operating systems – including iOS 18, watchOS 12, macOS 15 and visionOS 2 – use different numbers because their initial versions didn’t debut at the same time.

A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.

The company will announce the shift at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9.

The branding will accompany fresh user interfaces across the operating systems – an attempt to ensure a more cohesive experience when people move between devices.

The new look, dubbed Solarium internally, will include tvOS, watchOS and parts of visionOS, Bloomberg News reported this week.

The latest naming strategy is reminiscent of approaches taken by both Samsung Electronics Co and Microsoft Corp.

In 2020, Samsung renamed its flagship Galaxy S phone line after its launch year, moving to the Galaxy S20.

That device’s predecessor, which debuted in 2019, was the Galaxy S10, representing the 10th generation.

In 1995, Microsoft shifted to naming major operating systems after the year they launched, rolling out Windows 95 and then Windows 98 and Windows 2000.

The big difference is Apple will use the upcoming year rather than the current one.

Though its next operating systems will launch around September 2025, they’ll be named for 2026 – not unlike how car companies market their vehicles.

If Apple keeps the strategy, the following set of releases will carry the 27 moniker.

Apple previously attempted something similar with its software bundles for office work and creativity applications.

In August 2007, it rolled out iWork ‘08 and iLife ‘08.

That was eventually followed by iLife ‘11, which went on sale in October 2010.

As part of the changes, Apple plans to give the iPad a more Mac-like experience, potentially making it more useful for office work.

And the company is opening up its artificial intelligence (AI) models to third-party developers, letting them tap into the underlying technology used by the Apple Intelligence platform.

Other new features coming this year include a live-translation mode for AirPods and the Siri voice assistant, as well as an eye-scrolling option on the Vision Pro headset.

In the AI realm, Apple is planning health features and an AI-enabled battery management mode.

There also will be a new bi-directional Arabic and English keyboard, a digital calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users and a new app for gaming on Apple devices. — Bloombe

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Thursday, May 15, 2025

Can Huawei break the Mac-Windows duopoly?

 

Global ambitions: A man using his mobile phone in front of a billboard in Beijing, China. Huawei says that the first lineup of its PCs has built-in AI features, including DeepSeek-powered apps. — Bloomberg

IN the latest sign that US attempts to choke Huawei Technologies Co are only strengthening it, the Chinese tech giant will next week release its first line of personal computers (PCs) powered by the homegrown HarmonyOS operating system (OS).

The move to challenge the global duopoly overseen by Microsoft Corp’s Windows and Apple Inc’s MacOS was not by choice.

Huawei’s licence to run Windows on PCs expired in March, and America’s blacklisting makes it difficult for US firms to continue to do business with it.

Instead of succumbing to Washington’s squeeze, Huawei has invested heavily in the nearly impossible task of creating an entirely new software ecosystem from scratch.

It will be an uphill battle for HarmonyOS to make a dent, both in China and globally.

The first computers run by Windows or MacOS were released in the 80s and are the foundation – and essentially only options – for most applications and services that PC users rely on.

The diffusion and adoption of a new operating system doesn’t happen overnight.

But if Huawei can succeed in getting developers on board, it has a shot at providing the first real alternative to this two-party standard and offering a Chinese alternative that could eventually erode the long-term influence of Silicon Valley.

The new PCs follow the remarkable gains made by Huawei’s OS for mobile over the past couple of years, unseating Apple’s iOS in domestic market share at a rapid clip.

In early 2023, HarmonyOS’s operating system had just 8% of the mobile market in China, compared to the 72% held by Alphabet Inc’s Google-backed Android and iOS’s 20%, according to Counterpoint Research.

In the last quarter of 2024, however, HarmonyOS commanded 19% – surpassing iOS’s 17% and pushing Android’s share down to 64%.

There are other elements on its side.

Huawei’s homegrown OS aligns with President Xi Jinping’s goal of tech self-sufficiency, meaning it can likely count on government support to boost adoption.

China has a vast domestic market, which means there’s less pressure on Huawei to rely on the United States or foreign consumers as it works out any kinks.

The trade war is pressuring many Chinese to back domestic brands over American alternatives.

Huawei’s hardware empire also gives it a built-in userbase to tap. The company’s strength still largely lies in mobile devices, but it was second only to Lenovo in PC market share in China last year.

Still, headaches were reported with the mobile version, especially related to accessing certain apps that were specifically built for Android or iOS.

Splashy demo videos make the first such PC look like a sleek MacBook, but it’s going to take years for programmers to build out all the applications and products users have grown accustomed to, from Microsoft’s Office suite to Mac’s FaceTime.

By far the biggest challenge, across all devices, remains convincing developers to get on board.

China’s vast pool of engineers gives it an advantage, but Huawei must aggressively incentivise them to build services specifically for HarmonyOS.

It has made some strides. Huawei says that the first lineup of these PCs has built-in artificial intelligence (AI) features, including DeepSeek-powered apps.

State-backed media has reported that they have more than 150 dedicated applications, as well as being compatible with a range of popular Chinese platforms available on mobile.

In its annual report last year, Huawei said that over a billion devices – including phones, tablets and smartwatches – are already running HarmonyOS.

And Huawei has previously signalled global ambitions for its operating system, coinciding with its devices’ increasing popularity across South-East Asia and emerging markets.

A lot of attention has been paid to Huawei’s rise in the hardware sector, and specifically its advances in chipmaking for AI applications.

US efforts to ban advanced semiconductors from China have no doubt slowed AI ambitions. But they have also accelerated Beijing’s development of a domestic and self-sufficient ecosystem.

Most recently, America’s bar on Nvidia Corp’s H20 chips has been criticised for redirecting demand and money toward Huawei’s alternatives. The proliferation of Huawei’s HarmonyOS now makes it clear that we’re seeing a similar scenario play out in China’s software sector.

Washington should assess how its policies have resulted in Huawei growing into the behemoth it is today.

The ramifications extend far beyond potential impacts to US businesses.

In an increasingly bifurcating tech world, Beijing could eventually end up setting the norms and standards that the rest of the world adopts, whether that’s in AI or operating systems. — Bloomberg

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.

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