- HarmonyOS PC shipments are expected to increase tenfold to 1.4 million units by 2026
- The global PC market is expected to decline 12% in 2026, while Chrome takes a 28% dive.
- Rising prices for memory and storage are putting a heavy burden on suppliers of low-cost PCs
Huawei’s HarmonyOS is rapidly expanding beyond smartphones and tablets, emerging as a remarkable platform for desktops and business laptops.
In 2025, HarmonyOS PCs sold just 141,000 units, but forecasts suggest that number could increase tenfold to 1.4 million by 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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The pressure on the PC market creates openings
The global PC market is expected to decline by 12% in 2026, with shipments of desktops, notebooks and workstations falling to 245 million units.
Rising memory and storage prices have strained suppliers, especially in sub-$500 products, which are expected to fall 28%.
Windows PCs are expected to decline 12%, and ChromeOS devices face an even steeper 28% decline, largely due to education-focused demand and tighter component allocation.
Macs are expected to decline only 5%, benefiting from premium pricing and integrated supply chains.
HarmonyOS remains small on enterprise desktops and 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, head of research at Omdia.
“HarmonyOS-based PCs are emerging as a notable growth segment, expected 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, was launched in 2019 as a response to the US banning Huawei from using Android.
In 2024, the company launched HarmonyOS Next and migrated its PCs to the new system, just as it did its phones.
This strategy has proven successful, with HarmonyOS and the next version now on nearly a billion devices.
Although HarmonyOS remains small compared to Windows and ChromeOS, the platform’s year-over-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 manufacturing capacity and component supply, its presence in enterprise notebook and desktop businesses could create a new alternative for cost-sensitive buyers.
In emerging markets, Huawei’s HarmonyOS is likely to become a contender in segments that are otherwise declining.
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