Aptoide, a prominent third-party Android app store with more than 900,000 apps and 200 million users, might be negotiating with Huawei to become the Google Play Store replacement that the Chinese company needs in an uncertain future.
According to XDA Developer, after U.S. President Donald Trump placed it on the ban list, Huawei is now in an awkward place where several U.S. tech companies have severed ties with the Chinese telecom and smartphone giant. This also means Huawei is facing an uncertain future.
It is likely that Huawei’s upcoming smartphones for the international markets may come without access to the Google Play Store. Now, it appears that the company is seeking a possible alternative to remedy the dire situation.
Nevertheless, replacing the official app store with an unofficial one is not without caveats.
For one, Aptoide is not the official app store sanctioned by Google, nor does it have an overarching relationship with countless app developers and publishers. This means that apps on Aptoide are usually not uploaded and supported by the said parties. Paying for apps could also be a headache.
MobileSyrup has reached out to Huawei for more clarity on how it intends to integrate Aptoide into its products and tailor it to provide a similar user experience that the Google Play Store is known for.
Also, knowing that Huawei has the AppGallery, which the company’s de facto official app store for its devices in China, it is possible that Huawei could expand its own app hosting service globally through growing collaboration with app developers around the world.
Source: XDA Developer
