HarmonyOS Next, the new version of Huawei’s mobile operating system, runs on a brand new microkernel, uses a new, homegrown programming language, and most notably in this duopolistic world, does not run Android applications. This won’t be much of an issue inside China, where Huawei can more easily make sure the most important Chinese applications are supported and ported over, but outside of China that might pose some problems, especially for Chinese tourists visiting other countries.
It turns out there’s a solution for this, called 出境易 (as Android Authority notes, this seems to translate to something like “Easy Abroad”), which is basically a containerised Android runtime using microG. It comes with its own built-in application store filled with a number of popular Android applications, and runs them on HarmonyOS Next.
The tool is called 出境易, which roughly translates to “Easy Abroad.” It’s apparently designed to aid Chinese tourists who travel abroad. The tool seems to create a container for Android apps to run in, which is not a new concept but is surprising to see pop up so quickly for the new operating system. When installed, the tool lets you install a number of Android apps from its self-contained app store, including Facebook, Instagram, Discord, Reddit, YouTube, Google Search, Google Maps, Uber, Chrome, Gmail, Spotify, Disney Plus, Netflix, Steam, and more. These Android apps show up in a folder in the home screen but they cannot be dragged out of the folder.
[…]An early hands-on of the tool from YouTuber LL Techview shows that it works surprisingly well. Android apps launch quickly, run pretty smoothly, and even appear in the recents menu. It’s even possible to sign into your Google Account to use apps like Google Search and Gmail.
↫ Mishaal Rahman at Android Authority
There are limitations, of course, and they’re roughly the same as the ones found on any device running microG instead of Google Play Services – something I just wrote about in my review of /e/OS on a FairPhone 5: certain banking applications won’t work, anything that hooks too deeply into Play Services won’t run, that sort of stuff. On top of that, this tool also brings in some limitations of its own, like only whitelisted application being supported, notifications not working properly, and a few other issues.
This all feels very similar to what Jolla and Sailfish tried to do way back in 2014. Running Android applications as a side hustle was jank back then and I feel like it’s probably going to be jank today. Even just running Play Services in a restrictive sandbox – like I do with GrapheneOS on my daily driver, a Pixel 8 Pro – presents some issues, and microG adds even more compatibility issues on top. Putting all of this in a container will surely add an additional layer of jank, like it did on Sailfish OS.
Regardless, I’m 100% down with trying to get my hands on a HarmonyOS Next device if they ever become available in some form here in Sweden, as I feel like a review of what is the most serious attempt at breaking the Android-iOS duopoly in over a decade is something that belongs here on OSNews. If that time ever comes, I might set up another fundraiser to get it done.
Hey, I would be interested in the friction points of the Graphene play store sandbox.
Mainly that it can’t pass “Play Integrity”, which some but not all banking apps use – as well as some completely random apps like McDonalds.
How much heavy-lifting is being done by the word “container” here? How does this actually work?
I associate a “container” as being an application environment that runs on top of a shared kernel ( eg. Linux with Docker, Podman, LXC, LXD, Incus, and Kubernetes for example ). If that is what they mean by container here, that would mean Android apps running directly on top of the Huawei HarmonyOS micro-kernel. That would be quite something. HarmonyOS does not include the Linux kernel.
Or is the running Android APIs in something like WINE?
I guess the last option is that it is a VM environment with an actual Linux kernel underneath.
Does anybody know how this works?
This is why I consider breaking the Android-iOS duopoly harder than breaking the Windows-MacOS duopoly (which itself is very hard). At least the win32/win64 API is a well-understood and fairly static target, in contrast, Play Services looks like an API to the casual observer but is also a DRM system and an “anti-tamper” (rooted device detection) system, which makes it a constantly shifting target. Also, your average Android user probably has purchased apps, in-app purchases and saved games in the Play Store, and the Play Store is something that you can’t redistribute with your OS without Google’s permission.
In a sense, we are lucky that the biggest vendor of DRM for Windows games (Valve) is interested in cross-compatibility and all other DRM is app-specific (not Windows Store-specific).
Excellent point. It is not just about technical compatibility but also commercial compatibility with the Play Store ( or App Store ). I may have already paid for apps in one store as you say and not want to pay again in Harmony. It is also true that “smaller” apps ( like my local bank ) may be available from Google but not via other channels. It is not all Netflix, Discord, and Spotify ( as nice as those are ).
Good points about Windows as well, especially about gaming. You can see Apple on macOS trying to close that hole. More and more, they are maneuvering so that apps will only run on their OS if they have come through them first.
kurkosdr,
Maybe we’re being lulled into a false sense of security with steam. So far they’ve done loads of good for the linux community. But they do technically have a lot of power to screw us over. Even if it’s not the intention of the current board, all it takes is an “activist investor” to restructure everything. I recall Gabe Newell stating they would release everyone from their DRM if access to their software got threatened, however as far as I know he never wrote a legally binding contract. If he dies or looses control of the company, there’s no guarantee his successor would value linux and follow in his footsteps. A repeat of the Nokia Elop incident could happen at steam. Hopefully not of course, but there’s no guarantee it won’t.
Valve’s best interest is to keep supporting Desktop Linux, if anything because Microsoft tries to make Steam redundant for Windows. So far, Microsoft’s efforts have been a failure due to a combination of greed (Microsoft thinks they can change the same commissions Steam does), poor store curation, and the Windows Store just being horrible (for example firing random error messages when it feels like so instead of downloading your app). If you aren’t a Windows user, you can’t appreciate the distain the average Windows user has for the Windows Store. I tried to use it to download the Nvidia Control Panel for the DCH drivers (laptops cannot download non-DCH drivers), and it kept firing errors at me for no reason. I had to sideload an appx instead. But what if Microsoft comes to its senses and the Windows Store becomes good? That’s what Valve is afraid of (Gaben at the helm or not).
Instead, Desktop Linux is a “greenfield” market for vendors of DRM and Valve can become its own OS vendor (as they did) so they don’t have to worry about the OS vendor competing with them and abusing their position to push them away.
What Valve could do is demand certain things from Desktop Linux distro (such as no root access for users) like Google is already doing for AOSP distros. Yes, that could happen, but Desktop Linux would still be a threat to the Windows-MacOS duopoly.
What they can do is release Valve’s own games as DRM-free, I doubt they can change the terms for games of other publishers, and then there is the issue that some of the third-party games that Steam distributes are hardwired to require the existence of third-party DRM or anti-cheat tied to your Valve account.
I have a Huawei MatePad with the previous version of HarmonyOS which is Android-compatible. I actually like the OS much more than any Android variant I’ve encountered, it’s very fast and polished. For my purposes, which are mostly reading books, watching videos and browsing the Web, the lack of Google Services is not a big problem. You can use Aurora Store, GSpace and the likes. It does annoy me sometimes however. I wish there were a googlified version of this fine OS. I’m unlikely to buy a HarmonyOS 2.0-based device because of the lack of native Android compatibility.