Which HarmonyOS native applications are using Flutter

Background

On August 4, 2023, Huawei released HarmonyOS NEXT at the "2023 Huawei Developer Conference" and announced that the system would be open to cooperative enterprise developers.

HarmonyOS NEXT, also known as HarmonyOS 5.0, is the largest update version in the history of Harmony. Harmony is no longer compatible with Android and uses its own kernel (Harmony kernel), which completely replaces the original system functions in terms of kernel, operating system, and application layer. Harmony has completely gotten rid of the title of "Android shell".

Harmony native

For Everbright's application manufacturers and developers, all applications must be redeveloped and adapted. So what is the so-called native Harmony development? This article will discuss the following aspects:

Bottom-level adaptation

The original application needs to be rewritten, such as using ArkUI to completely re-adapt, or based on some cross-platform frameworks for Harmony adaptation. Some of the original Android system services also need to be replaced with HarmonyOS Kit, such as Huawei's one-click login, payment, advertising, Webview, etc. APIs involving system functions need to be adapted and developed, and the best application will run on the Harmony system.

Harmony characteristics

In addition to bottom-level adaptation, it is also necessary to start from the characteristics of Harmony and customize the development of functions exclusive to Harmony, such as service cards, meta-services, live windows, Xiaoyi, etc. Service cards can add various quick services on the desktop to display commonly used information; meta-services can use high-frequency quick services without installing the application or opening the application itself, such as recharging phone bills, checking express delivery, and ordering food; the live window is similar to the function of iOS, but it is more flexible and requires customized development; in order to better improve the user experience, the application can also be integrated with Xiaoyi. Through the intent framework, image and text dragging, etc., users can better use Xiaoyi Assistant, integrate application services, and recommend more valuable information to each user.

HarmonyOS has many features that may not be available in other systems, such as distributed features, which can achieve seamless application flow, from one device to another; in addition, there are one-touch transmission, unified code scanning, etc.

Business logic transformation

In addition, in terms of business logic, HarmonyOS native applications also need to be transformed. Unlike the previous Android, which directly requested various permissions when the App was started, the HarmonyOS system provides various security controls and System Picker can achieve safe and fast access to user data without requesting permissions, for example

One-to-many adaptation

Harmony system naturally supports systems of various devices, whether it is mobile phones, tablets, folding p screens, smart screens, or Harmony PCs, so it is natural to develop Harmony applications and adapt to multiple devices.

The so-called "one-to-many" refers to "one-time development, multi-terminal deployment".

Whether using ArkUI, or Flutter, React Native, Uniapp and other frameworks, you can adapt to multiple terminals well. By identifying the screen ratio and size, the application can be flexibly laid out, or monitoring screen change events to trigger the application to re-layout, etc., due to the large number of devices and different ratios, these require a lot of work.

Which applications are using Flutter

Flutter is a cross-platform development framework developed by Google and is used for development on Android, iOS, Linux, MacOS, Windows and other platforms. With the efforts of the open source Harmony community, Flutter also supports Harmony native development. So, which top applications use Flutter in Harmony native development? After data collection and research and analysis, the author has sorted out some of the top applications.

Download data as of May 5, 2025

Many Alibaba applications use Flutter, including UC, Xianyu, Quark, DingTalk, etc. Among the contributors to the open source Harmony Flutter repository, UC can also be seen.

For WeChat, Flutter also appeared. As early as before the launch of Harmony WeChat, there were reports of screenshots of Moments using Flutter. "The technology selection of WeChat Moments turned out to be..."). At the same time, earlier, WeChat launched a new mini-program rendering engine Skyline, and during the test, someone caught Skyline and flutter related logs, plus two articles released by WeChat after WeChat Harmony was officially launched, What do you need to go through to develop WeChat Harmony version? , these evidences show that WeChat is using Flutter.