Huawei’s HarmonyOS takes on desktops and laptops, showing explosive growth as Windows and ChromeOS face sharp declines globally
- HarmonyOS PC shipments projected to increase tenfold to 1.4 million units in 2026
- Global PC market expected to fall 12% in 2026, while Chrome takes a 28% dive
- Rising memory and storage prices strain vendors of low-cost PCs sharply
Huawei’s HarmonyOS is rapidly expanding beyond smartphones and tablets, emerging as a notable platform for desktops and business laptops.
In 2025, HarmonyOS PCs sold only 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 outpace ChromeOS within two years.
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PC market pressures create openings
The global PC market is expected to decline 12% in 2026, with shipments of desktops, notebooks, and workstations falling to 245 million units.
Rising memory and storage prices have strained vendors, particularly in products priced below $500, which are projected to drop 28%.
Windows PCs are expected to fall 12%, and ChromeOS devices face an even steeper decline of 28%, largely due to education-focused demand and tighter component allocation.
Macs are forecast to decline 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 supply-driven downturn in 2026 will not affect all PC platforms equally,” said Kieren Jessop, Research Manager at Omdia.
“HarmonyOS-based PCs are emerging as a notable growth segment, forecast to expand tenfold year on year from a small base as Huawei ramps up its PC ecosystem in China.”
The operating system’s expansion is closely tied to Huawei’s device ecosystem, which could allow it to leverage smartphones, tablets, and peripherals to accelerate adoption in PCs.
Huawei’s operating system, HarmonyOS, launched in 2019 as a response to the U.S. banning Huawei from using Android.
In 2024, the company launched HarmonyOS Next and transitioned its PCs to the new system, just as it did with its phones.
This strategy has proved successful, with HarmonyOS and the Next version now on almost one billion devices.
Although HarmonyOS remains small compared with Windows and ChromeOS, the platform’s year-on-year growth and strategic ecosystem integration suggest it could claim a larger share of the global market by the end of 2027.
If Huawei maintains production capacity and component supply, its presence in business laptops and desktops may create a new alternative for cost-sensitive buyers.
In emerging markets, Huawei’s HarmonyOS will likely become a contender in segments that are otherwise declining.
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