Huawei has announced the global launch of its Android app store, which will be available for download in the near future for all users of any Huawei device. Called AppGallery, the mobile app marketplace already comes pre-installed on all Huawei P20 and P20 Pro units, as well as the new Honor handsets. In addition, it is expected to hit older Huawei phones in the second quarter of the year. Users of legacy Huawei phones must first enable third-party app sources on their devices and visit wap2.hispace.hicloud.com to automatically download the app store since it won’t be available via the Google Play Store.
AppGallery includes five sections – Featured, Category, Top, Manager, and Me, with the latter tab being meant for the user’s custom settings and preferences. Keep in mind that the app store can be switched off by going to the Settings menu under the Me section. Users also have the option to remove the app marketplace entirely from their device, though the action won’t affect the apps already downloaded from the store and installed on a Huawei device. Huawei’s own app store works like Google Play, though it is noticeable that most of the mobile apps it contains are targeted at Asian consumers, primarily those from Huawei’s home country of China. A recent report from market analytics company Counterpoint Research indicated that Huawei shipped the largest number of mobile devices last year in China, having grabbed 19-percent of the market in the fourth quarter of 2017 alone. Coming in second was OPPO with a 17-percent market share, followed by Vivo with a 15-percent one.
Huawei’s digital marketplace is designed to offer the best of Android to consumers by providing an ecosystem full of high-quality apps, according to the company. Prior to the global launch of its app store, Huawei teamed up with Sygic and a host of other mobile developers last October, having signaled more such partnerships meant to ennoble its app portfolio will follow soon.