Updated

Updated · HC Newsroom · Jul 8

Huawei AI Life 17.0.3.312 Reveals HarmonyOS 7 Watch Controls for Smart Home Devices

Updated

Updated · HC Newsroom · Jul 8

Huawei AI Life 17.0.3.312 Reveals HarmonyOS 7 Watch Controls for Smart Home Devices

Q: Is Huawei's AI 'Agent OS' the first step toward a future without traditional smartphone apps?

Yes—but it is better seen as an early, important step rather than the first or a complete break from apps. Huawei’s HarmonyOS 7 points clearly toward an “agent” model of computing. The smartwatch upgrades in HarmonyOS 7 show the practical version of that shift: users do not need to open separate device apps to control lamps, plugs, speakers or presets; the watch becomes a direct task interface. More broadly, Huawei says HarmonyOS 7 is built for the “agent era,” with a rebuilt Xiaoyi assistant, Intelligent Agent Framework 2.0, and links to more than 2,000 specialized AI agents that can carry out multi-step tasks across devices. That matters because it changes the role of apps. In Huawei’s model, apps increasingly sit in the background as capability providers, while the operating system and AI assistant become the main entry point. This is the same direction described by analysts covering AI phones more broadly: users express goals, and the system chooses the tools. But Huawei is not eliminating apps. HarmonyOS NEXT actually depends on a large native app ecosystem, and Huawei is still racing to bring thousands of popular apps onto the platform after dropping Android compatibility. That means the agent layer is being built on top of apps, not instead of them. So Huawei’s “Agent OS” is a meaningful step toward a future where traditional apps matter less to users. It is not the first such idea in the industry, and it does not yet replace apps; it reframes them.

3 articles · Updated · HC Newsroom · Jul 8

AI Life version 17.0.3.312 shows Huawei smartwatches on HarmonyOS 7 will gain direct smart-home controls and one-click preset management.
The new Multi-device Management section lists watch features including viewing and controlling connected home products from the wrist, extending functions previously limited to Huawei smartphones.
Supported controls include devices such as smart plugs, AC adapters, light bulbs, desk lamps and smart speakers, with examples like adjusting lighting effects from a watch.
The update also adds faster offline-device detection and discovery of newly added services, signaling a broader push to make Huawei wearables more central to its device ecosystem.