Huawei’s HarmonyOS 6 public beta started rolling out October 22, 2025. They’d been talking about it since June, and now it’s actually here—at least if you’re in China with the right device. Everyone else is waiting.
Sign up through the My Huawei app, get approved, download the update over the air. Pretty straightforward. But this is beta software, which means bugs exist. Back up your stuff first because things break in test versions.
What actually changed
The interface feels different. Animations got smoother when you’re swiping between apps or multitasking. Less stuttering in menus. They added lock screen customization that doesn’t require digging through five different settings pages—wallpapers, widgets, all that.
AI features scattered throughout the system now. Files organize themselves. Smart suggestions appear based on what you’re doing. XiaoYi is the new voice assistant, and it’s supposed to understand context from your conversations and apps. You can tell it to book a ride or find information without spelling everything out. Whether that works as promised is what beta testing will reveal.
Getting access to the beta
Open My Huawei app on your device in China. There’s a beta signup—basically early access registration. They approve you, the update downloads wirelessly.
One warning though. Beta software glitches. Your phone might freeze randomly. Apps crash. Battery drains faster because optimization isn’t finished yet. If you need your device to work reliably every single day, wait for the stable release instead of jumping into testing.
What’s included in the October rollout
Public beta started with a bunch of devices, all China models:
| Phones | What They Are |
|---|---|
| Mate 70 | Brand new flagship, late 2025 |
| Mate 60 | Last year’s high-end model |
| Mate X6 | Latest foldable with huge inner screen |
| Mate X5 series | Older foldables from 2023-2024 |
| Pocket 2 series | Flip-style phones, smaller form factor |
| Pura 80 | Mid-2025, camera-focused |
| Pura 70 | Early 2025, similar to the 80 |
| Pura X series | Variants in the Pura camera line |
| Nova 14, 13, 12 | Budget to mid-range from 2023-2025 |
| Nova Flip & Flip S | Affordable foldables |
| Tablets |
|---|
| MatePad Pro 13.2 (2025 & 2023 models) |
| MatePad Pro 12.2 (2024) |
| MatePad 11 Pro (2024) |
Mate 70 just launched. Makes sense it’d get the beta immediately. Mate 60 from 2024 is still premium enough to deserve updates. Their foldables all made the list—X6, X5 series, Pocket 2 flips. Testing AI on flexible screens is probably trickier than flat displays, so they need the feedback.
Pura series focuses on photography. The 80 came out around mid-2025, the 70 a few months earlier. If XiaoYi integrates with camera features, that could mean smarter photo suggestions or editing shortcuts. Huawei hasn’t spelled that out yet, but it’d make sense.
Nova line covers budget phones. Nova 14 is fresh for 2025. Nova 13 came last year. Even the Nova 12 from 2023 gets beta access, which is decent support for a two-year-old device. Nova Flip and Flip S are the cheaper foldables—including them shows Huawei isn’t only testing on expensive hardware.
Tablets got included across multiple years. MatePad Pro 13.2 from both 2025 and 2023. That’s two years of device support for beta access. The 12.2 and 11 Pro from 2024 round out the pro lineup. Bigger screens need testing too, especially for productivity features and multitasking improvements.
Invite-only closed beta
Separate from public testing, there’s a closed beta starting late October. Smaller group, earlier access, more experimental stuff.
| Closed Beta Devices |
|---|
| Mate XT & Mate XT Ultimate Design (tri-fold phones) |
| MatePad Pro 12.2 (2025 model) |
| MateBook Pro (laptop line) |
| Watch 5 & Watch GT 5 series |
| FreeBuds 6, FreeBuds 7i, FreeArc neckbands |
Mate XT is that tri-fold phone—folds twice instead of once. Pretty wild design. Makes sense they’d limit testing to invites before opening it up. The Ultimate Design is the premium version. Both need careful testing given how complex that folding mechanism is.
MateBook Pro laptops are getting HarmonyOS too. This isn’t just a phone and tablet OS anymore—Huawei’s pushing it across their entire ecosystem. Watches, earbuds, even neckband audio gear got included in closed beta. Your phone, laptop, watch, and headphones could all run the same system with better integration between them.
More devices coming later
November through December 2025 brings beta access to additional hardware:
| Late 2025 Additions |
|---|
| Nova 14 Lite (Vitality Edition) |
| Enjoy 70X |
| MatePad Mini |
| MatePad Air (2024 & 2025) |
| MatePad 11.5S (2024 & 2025) |
| Watch Fit 4 series |
| FreeBuds Pro 4 |
| FreeClip 2 & original FreeClip |
Nova 14 Lite is the cheaper version of the Nova 14 already in public beta. Enjoy 70X targets budget users even more. Waiting until November for these probably means Huawei wants major bugs fixed on premium devices before pushing updates to their most price-sensitive customers.
MatePad Mini is their small tablet. MatePad Air models from 2024 and 2025—slim, portable. The 11.5S from both years made the list. Watch Fit 4 aims at fitness tracking instead of full smartwatch features. FreeBuds Pro 4 are high-end earbuds. FreeClip 2 and the original use that open-ear design where they clip onto your ear instead of going inside.
Why China gets it first
Huawei’s entire beta program runs in China before expanding anywhere else. Partly regulatory—HarmonyOS Next (the version that completely removes Android code) faces scrutiny in some markets. Partly strategic too. China gives them the biggest pool of testers using the widest variety of devices. Bug reports flood in faster, issues surface quicker, software gets iterated on before release in regions where they’ve got smaller market share.
Trade-off is anyone outside China can’t participate yet. If you bought a Huawei device internationally, you’re waiting on announcements about when—or if—your region gets access. Previous HarmonyOS versions did roll out globally eventually, but the timeline stretched months after China’s initial release. Probably similar here unless they change approach.
Whether you should install this
If you’re in China with a compatible device, it comes down to whether you can tolerate beta instabilities. Phones freeze. Apps crash. Battery life tanks because optimization isn’t done. Features might not work right.
Upside is getting those AI features early. Testing XiaoYi before most people see it. Your bug reports shape the final product. Some people like being on the cutting edge even when it’s messy. Others prefer stable releases.
Back up everything first—contacts, photos, app data, whatever matters. Beta software breaks things. Sometimes you need to factory reset your device to fix major issues. Having a backup means you won’t lose anything important when that happens.
Public beta usually runs a few months before stable version launches. If previous patterns hold, stable HarmonyOS 6 might arrive early 2026 for most users. But that’s guessing—Huawei hasn’t announced a timeline. They’ll keep pushing beta updates based on feedback, fixing bugs as they’re reported, adding polish until it feels ready for mass release.
Right now this is a China-exclusive preview of where Huawei’s taking their OS. More devices, more AI, more ecosystem integration. Whether it delivers depends partly on people willing to test it early.
