China Mobile Communications Group Guangdong Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guangdong Mobile) actively responds to the national requirements for independent and controllable development, focuses on industry pain points, and fully leverages the expertise and accumulated advantages of the operator. In collaboration with China Mobile’s Smart Home Operation Center (hereinafter referred to as the Smart Home Center), Guangdong Mobile has dedicated efforts to create the Zhìhóng Operating System, establishing a unified software foundation that is intelligent, open, and secure. As the first distribution based on the open-source HarmonyOS foundation in the communications industry, Zhìhóng has officially launched the first batch of pilot commercial applications in Guangdong Province nationwide. This not only marks a solid step for China Mobile in building an independent and controllable smart home ecosystem but also symbolizes a breakthrough from “zero” for the open-source HarmonyOS ecosystem in the key foundational areas of the communications industry. It further expands the boundaries of ecological applications and provides a viable path for industry replication.
On June 5, 2025, the launch ceremony for the pilot commercial application of the first batch of Zhìhóng devices was grandly held at the Tianhe Carbei Maintenance Workstation of China Mobile Guangzhou Company. Representatives from Guangdong Mobile, the Smart Home Center, Guangzhou Mobile, the City Tietong Company, and HarmonyOS ecosystem service companies jointly witnessed this important moment. The attendees unveiled the first batch of routers equipped with the Zhìhóng operating system together, marking the formal entry of the system into the practical testing phase to be tested in real user environments.
Vice General Manager of the Smart Home Center's Family IoT Product Department, Shi Chao, shared the value objectives and strategic layout of Zhìhóng. The launch of Zhìhóng represents a crucial step for the company's transformation from a "connectivity pipeline" to an "ecosystem platform." Its value lies not only in technological upgrades and efficiency improvements but also in reshaping the industry's competitive landscape through ecosystem integration and strategic positioning, providing core support for the company's long-term development in the era of intelligent interconnection of all things. Zhìhóng's operating system, built on the open-source HarmonyOS foundation, actively integrates into the larger HarmonyOS ecosystem through the GIIC Alliance. It has achieved a dominant position in the standardization of interoperability for consumer operating systems in the communications field. Specifically, it has planned two types of products: "Zhìhóng Inside" and "Zhìhóng Connect," forming a "1-1-2" development pattern of one alliance, one operating system, and two types of products. This promotes the full integration of Zhìhóng with the larger HarmonyOS ecosystem, supports the retention of existing users and in-depth cultivation of niche markets, and drives the domestication process in key areas. Shi Chao noted that the current pilot commercial application of Zhìhóng is just the first step. The system's substitution capability, stability, and reliability will be fully validated in real user environments, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale commercial use.
Fang Jiangbo, Deputy General Manager of the Marketing Department of Guangdong Mobile, expressed his expectations for the future development of Zhìhóng. He stated that Guangdong Company will actively integrate into the national strategy for domestic development, respond to the group's advocacy for HarmonyOS, and continue to deepen cooperation with the open-source HarmonyOS ecosystem based on Zhìhóng. Efforts will be made to expand the range and boundaries of cooperation, promote the leap from single-item intelligence to whole-house interconnection and the interconnection of all things, and create new scenarios, new experiences, and a new domestic ecosystem.
Li Bo, General Manager of the Industry Promotion Center of the HarmonyOS Ecosystem Service Company, expressed his full support and high expectations for the cooperation between China Mobile and the HarmonyOS ecosystem. He looks forward to the continuous enrichment of the ecosystem interconnection attributes of Zhìhóng. In the future, he hopes to strengthen the deep integration and scenario interconnection with Huawei's HarmonyOS ecosystem, jointly enhance user experience, and truly make technology serve life.
In the future, Guangdong Mobile will continue to work in collaboration with the Smart Home Center and open-source HarmonyOS industry partners, focusing on Zhìhóng to enhance capability building. On one hand, we will jointly build and open-source basic capabilities, refine differentiated advantages, and reserve cutting-edge technologies to continuously fuel system upgrades. On the other hand, we will expand development boundaries, increase the range of covered devices, enrich application scenarios, and extend application fields to continuously improve and strengthen the Zhìhóng system ecosystem. We firmly believe that with its outstanding performance and innovative ecosystem, Zhìhóng will bring the advantages of HarmonyOS to a broader market, injecting new vitality into the communications industry and even the entire technology sector, and leading the brilliant future of the new era of interconnection of all things.