Huawei’s HarmonyOS takes on desktops and laptops, showing explosive growth as Windows and ChromeOS face sharp declines globally
- HarmonyOS PC shipments expected to increase tenfold to 1.4 million units in 2026
- Global PC market expected to fall 12% in 2026, while Chrome plunges 28%
- Rising memory and storage prices strain low-cost PC vendors
Huawei’s HarmonyOS is rapidly expanding beyond smartphones and tablets, becoming a notable platform for professional desktops and laptops.
In 2025, HarmonyOS PCs sold just 141,000 units, but forecasts suggest that figure could increase tenfold to 1.4 million in 2026.
This growth comes even as the global PC market contracts, highlighting a potential shift in platform adoption that could allow HarmonyOS to overtake ChromeOS within two years.
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PC Market Pressures Create Openings
The global PC market is expected to shrink by 12% in 2026, with shipments of desktops, laptops and workstations falling to 245 million units.
Rising memory and storage prices have strained suppliers, especially for products priced below $500, which are expected to fall 28%.
Windows PCs are expected to drop 12%, and ChromeOS devices face an even steeper decline of 28%, largely due to education-driven demand and tighter component allocation.
Macs are expected to decline by only 5%, benefiting from premium pricing and integrated supply chains.
HarmonyOS remains minor on desktops and business laptops, but its growth trajectory stands out.
Analysts note that a tenfold increase from a small base demonstrates momentum in segments where cost-sensitive consumers and regional adoption favor Huawei’s platform.
“The slowdown in supply in 2026 will not affect all PC platforms equally,” said Kieren Jessop, head of research at Omdia.
“HarmonyOS-based PCs are emerging as a notable growth segment, expected to grow tenfold year-over-year from a small base, as Huawei strengthens its PC ecosystem in China.”
The OS expansion is closely tied to Huawei’s device ecosystem, which could allow it to leverage smartphones, tablets and peripherals to accelerate its adoption on PCs.
Huawei’s operating system, HarmonyOS, was launched in 2019 in response to the United States’ ban on Android.
In 2024, the company launched HarmonyOS Next and migrated its PCs to the new system, just like it did its phones.
This strategy has proven effective, with HarmonyOS and the Next version now on nearly a billion devices.
Although HarmonyOS remains small compared to Windows and ChromeOS, the platform’s annual growth and strategic ecosystem integration suggest it could claim a larger share of the global market by the end of 2027.
If Huawei maintains its production capacity and component supply, its presence in professional laptops and desktops could create a new alternative for cost-sensitive buyers.
In emerging markets, Huawei’s HarmonyOS will likely become a competitor in segments that would otherwise be in decline.
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