A few hours before Huawei officially unveiled HarmonyOS 7.0 at HDC 2026, the company quietly dropped OpenHarmony 7.0 Beta 1 — a pre-release build that had first surfaced three weeks earlier and has now been formally released as a public testing framework for device makers and developers.
OpenHarmony serves as the open-source foundation that device manufacturers and software developers use to build custom operating systems for smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. This Beta 1 release brings a range of new capabilities spanning ArkUI, ArkWeb, ArkTS, camera management, media handling, and more.
On the UI and application side, the update introduces dynamic layout containers, global reuse of custom components, and a redesigned window management system. Notification handling gets more flexibility with support for custom notification ringtones, while granular per-app controls have also been expanded. ArkWeb receives optimized web page control capabilities and a kernel upgrade to Chromium 144, along with URL whitelist control support.
The full list of changes is detailed below.
Application Framework
- The “Last Exit Information” field in the Ability section now supports retrieving the exit reason.
- The AbilityStage context includes a new launchElement field, informing the application which Ability is being loaded when onCreate is called in AbilityStage — enabling dynamic resource loading.
- The AbilityStage component manager adds a callback for when the first Ability is about to be created, plus a callback for when a process starts from an application snapshot.
- Added support for retrieving the application name using a specified package name and clone index.
- C API now supports managing ModularObjectExtensionAbility, including querying information and handling connection and disconnection.
Media
- The C API adds a callback function for privacy protection settings, used to respond to privacy events triggered during screenshots and screen recordings.
- The C API now supports retrieving multi-screen recording capability information and selecting multiple screens for recording via DisplayID.
Camera Management
- Added support for creating deferred preview output objects that can be added to data streams in place of standard preview outputs, with Surface configuration support for deferred preview.
- New professional camera capabilities added to photo and video modes, covering flash, optical image stabilization, exposure, manual focus, ISO sensitivity, and physical aperture settings.
Background Task Management
- The countdown reminder instance object now includes repeatInterval and repeatCount parameters.
Basic Communication
- Added support for obtaining Wi-Fi connection information via C API.
- Added playback status broadcast support for A2DP and SCO broadcast events.
Network Management
- TLS now supports certificate chain verification, with the ability to handle up to 1,000 certificates by passing in an array.
Content Embedding Service
- A newly added Content Embed service provides a framework for cross-application document embedding and collaborative editing, offering encapsulated client and server development interfaces to simplify the implementation of cross-app document collaboration.
Google Pixel 9
Google Pixel Watch 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8
Keep Reading
Android 17 QPR1 Beta 6 has arrived for Google Pixel devices, bringing a mix of new features and bug fixes. This release also marks the Platform Stability milestone for the operating system, laying the groundwork for its transition toward a stable release. Alongside the specific bug fixes Google detailed for this build, the update introduces […]
Honor introduced a new term to the industry, “Agentic OS,” on the opening day of MWC26 in Shanghai, outlining several defining characteristics of this operating system concept along with features that will arrive for users through the upcoming MagicOS 11 update. The reveal took place during the MWC 26 first-day event on June 24, where […]
When it comes to sheer feature breadth, Android generally has the upper hand. Split-screen multitasking, desktop PC mode via an external monitor, the ability to swap out the default launcher — these are things iPhones simply can’t do. Customization and openness have always been Android’s calling card. Even so, Apple has quietly built a set […]
Honor is deep in development on MagicOS 11, and fresh details suggest the company is going all-in on a visual overhaul — one that will bring a Liquid Glass-inspired interface to its devices. Following iOS 26 and HarmonyOS 7, Honor appears ready to join the glass UI wave with its own take on the aesthetic. […]
Samsung has extended the June 2026 Android security update beyond the Galaxy S26 lineup, with the patch now rolling out to the Galaxy S25 series, Galaxy S25 Edge, and Galaxy Z Fold 7. The update weighs in at around 900MB and delivers 45 security fixes in total, with the rollout beginning in South Korea before […]
Huawei took the wraps off HarmonyOS 7 at its Huawei Developer Conference (HDC) on June 12, 2026. The new OS update spans smartphones, tablets, PCs, wearables, and IoT devices, with Yu Chengdong – Huawei’s Executive Director, Chairman of the Product Investment Review Committee, and Chairman of the Consumer Business Group – officially announcing the update […]
Comments & Discussions
Join the conversation! We use Disqus to handle comments. Click the button below to load the comment section.