Huawei declared HarmonyOS 7 the 'era of agents' 4 days after Apple's refusal

Apple officially confirmed that AI features for Siri will not appear in China. Four days later, Huawei took the stage in Dongguan and declared HarmonyOS 7 the "beginning of the era of agents" — claiming a niche that its competitor left vacant.

What HarmonyOS 7 brought

The main difference of the new system is an agent-based architecture built into the OS level. This is not just another voice assistant: the system can independently execute multi-step tasks, interact with applications, and adapt to user behavior without manual intervention at each step. Huawei built this functionality specifically for Chinese market conditions. The company didn't simply add AI features — it rebuilt the OS architecture around an agent-based approach, making it the central element of device interaction.

Key capabilities include:

• Multi-step scenario execution without manual confirmation at each stage
• Deep integration with the Chinese ecosystem: WeChat, Alipay, Baidu services
• Optimization for Kirin processors with local task execution
• Offline mode support — an important argument for users with sensitive data
• Unified agent field across smartphone, tablet, PC, and smart home devices

Why Apple was left behind

Apple failed to reach an agreement with Chinese regulators on launching Apple Intelligence in the country. Key requirements concern data storage on servers within China and the use of only those language models that have passed local certification. Negotiations with potential partners — Baidu, Alibaba, and several other companies — lasted several months but did not lead to concrete agreements. As a result, Apple acknowledged: AI assistant features in China are not available in the near term.

This is not a technological failure — Apple has sufficient resources to adapt its product. This is a regulatory impasse that requires significantly more time than a typical product cycle.

Betting on the largest market

China is the world's largest smartphone market with hundreds of millions of active devices. High user loyalty to local brands and Huawei's existing ecosystem make this market strategically key for any long-term AI strategy.

"HarmonyOS 7 is the beginning of the era of agents," the company announced at the presentation in

Dongguan.

While Apple waits for regulatory approval, Huawei gets the opportunity to shape the habits of hundreds of millions of users. This means not just market share today, but also interaction standards that competitors will have to overcome in the future. Whoever shapes habits shapes the market.

The symbolic aspect is also important: Huawei has long operated under Western sanctions and limited access to Western technologies. Launching an agent-based OS at the moment when the largest competitor was forced to retreat is not just a product move, but a demonstration of technological sovereignty.

What this means

The gap between Apple and Huawei on AI features in the Chinese market will grow — until Apple solves the regulatory issue. For global competition in the AI devices sector, this is an important signal: control over infrastructure and compliance with local requirements are becoming as important as the quality of the technologies themselves. You can win in a local market not just with the best product, but with the best readiness to play by its rules.