On Tuesday,Candy Apples Archives Chinese social app WeChat began inviting users to beta test HarmonyOS NEXT, an independent operating system developed by Huawei that supports only HarmonyOS native apps. The first batch of devices for public testing includes the Huawei Mate 60 series, Huawei Mate X5 series, and Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2-inch series. Users who have upgraded to HarmonyOS NEXT can be among the first to experience it upon receiving an invitation. This beta version of HarmonyOS WeChat includes messaging, audio and video calls, Moments (social media feed), and QR code payment functions. The technical team said that developing the native version of WeChat for HarmonyOS NEXT feels like creating the first version of WeChat all over again, with many issues requiring hands-on learning with documentation, one Tencent employee shared on the Chinese X-like platform Weibo. [Tencent Weibo, in Chinese]
