Device interconnectivity is a pain? From smartphones to smart homes, get multi-device support

Multiple smart devices are often tough to interconnect properly or at least take time and effort. Now, there may well be a solution out there that even provides support from smartphones to smart home devices.

A Huawei Mate 40 smartphone installed with Huawei’s operating system HarmonyOS is displayed at a Huawei store in Beijing, China June 3, 2021. (REUTERS)

Simplify, Simplify. Simplify. In this digitally enhanced world there is still a huge gap in terms of the interconnectivity of devices. We have so many personal smart devices and many more at home and linking them all into one coherent whole has always been a tough task requiring multiple steps (discover, pair, work through many features) that affect user experience. So, it had be that someone tries to come up with a solution to connect these unconnected devices through an uncomplicated process.

Looking to make sense of it all for users is this new OS from Huawei, the HarmonyOS 2 for smartphones, which was officially launched earlier this month. Interconnecting smart devices and getting content to flow in a smooth and simple manner is what Huawei's HarmonyOS 2 is promising. Here is how:

 

 

HarmonyOS 2 operating system vows to seamlessly interconnect devices with new features like Drag to Connect, playback control panel and a new HarmonyOS Connect app.

An intuitive connection method called ‘Drag to Connect' has been rolled out by Huawei HarmonyOS 2. What users need to do is look up the Super Device widget under the Control Panel of a phone. The icon of the phone is encircled by a variety of other devices including tablets, PCs, smart screens, and speakers. To establish a connection, the user needs just to drag the icon of one device to the phone to connect the two.

Interconnected device functionality is also enabled by Samsung and Apple that enables work across multiple devices including the ability to continue working on other devices, sharing clipboards and passwords and more. However, HarmonyOS 2 has now added similar interconnected device functionality for its smartphones and smart home devices.

How Drag to Connect works: It allows users to visit the Super Device widget under the control panel of a smartphone to quickly pair with nearby devices. The company says that users will be able to connect to tablets, PCs, smart screens, speakers, and more by quickly dragging the icon of the device to be connected onto their smartphone icon. The cumbersome process of discovering and pairing new devices will not be required.

HarmonyOS Playback Control Panel: HarmonyOS allows users to quickly change between streaming apps or even streaming devices, such as a wireless speaker or a Bluetooth headset through the Playback Control Panel.

Huawei HiLink replaced by HarmonyOS Connect: Huwaei has also announced that its older HiLink app has now been upgraded to HarmonyOS Connect, which will allow non-Huawei branded smart home devices to gain additional features when users on a phone with HarmonyOS Connect are installed. The company says that smart home devices require users to install apps and many users don't do that. The company says that smart home devices that integrate with the OS will be able to set up a connection by simply tapping the phone to the device.

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