# OpenHarmony vs HarmonyOS: what is the difference?

> OpenHarmony is the open-source base project governed by the OpenAtom Foundation; HarmonyOS is Huawei's commercial OS built on it. Compare licensing, kernel, apps and Android support.

Source: https://ohosify.com/en/blog/openharmony-vs-harmonyos
Published: 2026-10-01

**Short answer:** OpenHarmony is the open-source base project governed by the OpenAtom Foundation. HarmonyOS is Huawei's commercial operating system built on top of OpenHarmony with additional proprietary components. The relationship is often compared to AOSP and Android.

## What is the difference between OpenHarmony and HarmonyOS?

| | OpenHarmony | HarmonyOS |
|---|---|---|
| Owner / governance | OpenAtom Foundation (open-source project) | Huawei (commercial product) |
| Source code | Public; anyone can obtain it | Not fully published |
| License | Mainly Apache 2.0; other components keep their own licenses | Proprietary |
| Kernel | Multi-kernel: LiteOS, Linux, UniProton | HarmonyOS 5 onward uses Huawei's HongMeng kernel |
| Devices | From microcontrollers to phones, from many vendors | Mainly Huawei devices |
| App store and cloud services | None bundled | Huawei AppGallery and HMS |
| Android apps | Not supported | HarmonyOS 2–4.x: yes. HarmonyOS 5+: no |

## How did HarmonyOS change with version 5 (NEXT)?

Earlier HarmonyOS versions (2 to 4.x) on phones combined AOSP with OpenHarmony, so they could run Android apps. HarmonyOS NEXT, launched as HarmonyOS 5 in late 2024, removed the AOSP layer and the Android compatibility. It runs only native apps, uses the HongMeng microkernel and is based on OpenHarmony 5.0 (API level 12).

HarmonyOS 6 continues this approach and is based on OpenHarmony 6.0.

## Which one should you develop for?

- **HarmonyOS apps:** If you want to reach Huawei phones and tablets through AppGallery, target HarmonyOS.
- **OpenHarmony devices:** If you work on development boards, industrial or embedded devices, or build your own distribution, target OpenHarmony.

Both share ArkTS, ArkUI and DevEco Studio. In a DevEco Studio project the target is selected in the build profile, where `runtimeOS` can be set to `OpenHarmony`. Do not assume that an app built for HarmonyOS will run on an OpenHarmony device, because APIs and services differ.

## What do HarmonyOS and OpenHarmony have in common?

- The ArkTS language and the declarative ArkUI framework.
- The same app model concepts (Stage model, HAP packages).
- The DevEco Studio toolchain and the hdc debugging tool.

## Next steps

- [What is OpenHarmony?](/en/blog/what-is-openharmony)
- [What is ArkTS?](/en/blog/what-is-arkts)
- [How to install DevEco Studio](/en/blog/install-deveco-studio)