Due to the American ban imposed on Huawei since May 2019, Huawei has not been able to launch new phones that include Google services for...
Due to the American ban imposed on Huawei since May 2019, Huawei has not been able to launch new phones that include Google services for mobile devices - the basis of Android smartphones - since last year.
Therefore, (Huawei App Store) Huawei App Gallery is now the default app store for Huawei and Honor phones that were launched recently, and since the fully equipped application store is a key to the success of any smartphone, there are a lot of incentives that the company provides to app developers to attract them to develop App for its store, especially outside of China.
But how does Huawei plan to expand the AppGallery app store globally, and the most important question: What are its plans to replace Google services in its phones?
Below we will learn how Huawei plans to replace Google Play App Store with its own store:
1- Include new apps in the store:
With the recent launch of Huawei devices such as: P40 Pro and Mate Xs, it appeared that the AppGallery app store was not fully ready, but Huawei officials seem optimistic about the progress made so far, where the company's CEO (Richard Yu), said in a press interview after the phone launch event P40 Pro saying:
“There are some concerns at first, and the app store is not perfect now, but over time it will be a very strong competitor, and I have confidence that it is improving quickly. The ban has affected us a lot in the past year, but the store is improving now, growing rapidly.”
But the challenge Huawei faces is to transform itself and developers away from the use of the Google Mobile Services (GMS), which developers use the basic toolkit to run applications, as it usually integrates Google services such as: location, identity and account data into applications, but it must use Apps in her store instead.
Huawei began developing HMS (Huawei Mobile Services) less than a year ago, specifically in May 2019, however, HMS has been incorporated into Huawei's new P40 Pro phone, and includes the previously installed (App Store) AppGallery. Huawei hopes that HMS and its services will be successful in the future with continuous improvement.
2- Encourage and motivate developers:
Huawei provides development tools to help companies adapt to their phones, says Yu: “Switching applications from GMS to HMS is very easy for developers, often just requiring one or two days.”
He added: “We want to talk with all the leading application developers to quickly integrate the HMS system into their applications and put them in the Huawei application store, this is our top priority now, and we have built a global team to develop business and discuss this with the developers, but there are many applications, and it will take some time ”
The company is also working on providing alternatives to the famous Google services such as: Maps, Voice Assistant, in addition to testing its location services, where it is currently cooperating with the developers of TomTom Maps application to speed up the process, however TomTom has not reached the application gallery yet.
It also launched its default voice assistant (Celia), which is available on the P40 in certain geographic areas, and in certain languages.
3- Developing cooperation with Google:
Huawei hopes to continue its cooperation with Google and work together regardless of everything, as it still needs Google, and hopes that Google can obtain a license from the US government to come back and cooperate together, as it believes that this partnership would bring more The value offers better options for the users.
4- Include popular apps:
Although modern Huawei App Store, it already contains many popular applications, ready for download such as: Microsoft Office, Telegram, Snapchat, Tidal and TikTok.
In addition to very popular games like: World of Tanks Blitz, Asphalt and Fortnite, but most users will need to add an Amazon app store to download popular social media apps, or use APK downloads directly.
Continue to develop the application store:
If Huawei succeeds in its plan to build a strong and competitive international app store for both Google and Apple stores, its efforts may change the mobile phone industry, with a strong third competitor entering the app store market.
Huawei is well positioned to offer a third choice in terms of app stores, and is in a strong position thanks to the more than 230 million phones shipped in 2019 carrying its trademark, and more than 400 million monthly users for its app gallery in 170 countries, but will it really work?
Of course, history shows how difficult the task is, as Microsoft failed to turn the Windows App Store into a true competitor to Google Play, just as it did with the Samsung Store and BlackBerry as well.
But the main difference here is that Huawei has no choice, as it must work to develop its own app store after all partnerships with Google have been severed, and therefore must challenge the status quo, and this may give it sufficient motivation to provide a robust app store for smartphone users.
