All the new features and details in one place

Huawei has quietly announced a new version of its EMUI software for global users. EMUI 12 follows EMUI 11 with a clearer user interface and several new functions. The look of the latest Android skin is inspired by Harmony OS 2.0. While Huawei is also expected to bring the new operating system to its existing phones, the company doesn’t seem ready to give up EMUI altogether.

EMUI 12 design and UI changes

EMUI 12 comes with a redesigned user interface. Huawei uses more rounded corners and gradients while sticking to a black, blue, and white format. New animations also make the user interface look more lively. Huawei says it was inspired by how celestial objects move in the universe. EMUI 12 also allows users to adjust the thickness of the font on their phones using a slider.

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Users can now swipe down from any screen to open the control panel. Here they can quickly access audio playback, WiFi settings, bluetooth, shortcut switches and more. There’s also a new Device Plus area in the Control Panel where users can tap the MatePad / MateBook icons to enable multi-screen collaboration with their Huawei tablets and laptops. This allows users to make calls, send messages, review their photos, and edit files from their phones on their tablet or laptop screens.

The notification center is also separated from the quick access area. It will now appear by swiping down from the top left corner of the screen.

Distributed file system

EMUI 12 also introduces a new distributed file system. It provides instant access to photos and phone documents on your laptops. According to Huawei, the experience is similar to accessing a drive on your laptop without the need for cables. However, the feature is limited to certain Huawei phones and MateBooks running PC Manager 11.1 or later.

Seamless video calls

Finally, EMUI 12 introduces a nice but niche productivity trick that improves on the existing MeeTime video calling feature. It now supports cross-device integration so that users can seamlessly route their video calls from their phones to Huawei Vision TVs. The latter are of course only available in a handful of countries, so most Huawei users won’t like the feature.

EMUI 12 availability and eligible devices

Unfortunately, Huawei has not announced a rollout roadmap for EMUI 12. We also don’t know which phones should get the new software. The company had previously announced the availability of the stable Harmony OS 2.0 update for 65 devices. However, as far as we know, this list is still limited to devices imported into China.

We’ll update this article when Huawei provides more details on the EMUI 12 rollout.