Huawei Developer Day - held in Beijing on 16 December 2020 - saw the Chinese tech giant reveal its HarmonyOS 2.0 beta for smartphones.

At this stage in time that doesn't mean a change for the company's mobile devices - it's a developer beta only for now - but it does spell a step-change: as HarmonyOS is expected to replace Google's Android OS in the company's mobile devices in the near future.

The year 2020 has been a rough ride for Huawei's phone business, with a United States blacklisting causing a ban on its use of Google Mobile Services. That's why the company is going out on its own, having already created its own app store, AppGallery.

Harmony OS is the next step in its ecosystem plans. Originally penned as a wide-ranging system to cater for the Internet of Things (IoT), the software has developed beyond its September 2020 release for smart screens, wearables and in-car systems.

So what will HarmonyOS 2.0 offer? Huawei's official developer site details some aspects, with the company Tweeting about its API support and development tools, including DevEco Studio.

It's an exciting step forward, but a potentially tricky one. With Huawei ditching Google Android entirely, will the company's phones continue to hold appeal with European consumers? Time will tell.