What You Need To Know About Huawei AppGallery in 2020: The Google Play Store Alternative

Huawei AppGallery, an ever-growing app store

If you’ve ever used any of Huawei’s phones in the last two years, you’ll already be familiar with AppGallery, which was launched globally with the P20.

With the whole kerfuffle earlier in 2019 when Google and other US companies announced they would no longer be able to provide services and parts to Huawei, the company has had to come up with solutions.

For Huawei Mate 30 series users, the AppGallery essentially takes over as the main place to download apps, and it is now available in 170 countries with over 400 million monthly active users globally.

According to Huawei, over 1.30 million developers around the world develop apps for the AppGallery, and 55,000 global apps have been integrated into AppGallery as of December 2019. Huawei has also announced in late 2019 that they will be putting aside US$1 billion to accelerate AppGallery’s expansion.

60% more local apps have been included in AppGallery

The newest and latest from Huawei, the Mate 30 series, was launched in late October 2019 without the Google Play Store. And in response, the Huawei AppGallery has now increased their offering of local apps like Carousell, EZ-Link, FairPrice and more by almost 60%.

There are also plans to bring in more local popular apps in the latter half of 2020. But it begs the question, what if the app you’re looking for isn’t available on the AppGallery yet?

Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp Work on the Newer Huawei Devices

People have resorted to sideloading and installing app APKs, and another popular way is by using Huawei’s Phone Clone app.

By cloning all the apps and data on your old phone into your new phone, users will be able to access apps that aren’t currently available for download on the AppGallery.

Even without Google, Huawei still runs on Android

This means that some apps that aren’t on the AppGallery but are on the Google Play store will be able to be transferred over to the new phone and work. This is made possible because the Huawei Mate 30 series phones are still running on the Android Open Source Project, meaning that Android apps can work on the devices, subject to compatibility. We’re currently conducting tests to see which apps work and which don’t, but you’ll be surprised to know that there actually is a Google app that works with this method. If you have concerns about not being able to use popular apps like Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram on new Huawei devices, don’t worry! Our video on this will be coming out soon, so stay tuned for more. Back on topic, it’s definitely an easy method to get all the apps that you’re used to onto a new Huawei phone. Of course, it’ll be best if direct downloads are possible, so we’re eagerly anticipating even more apps to make their way onto the AppGallery.ss

Don’t see the app you want in the AppGallery? Make sure to let Huawei know by adding it to your wishlist. You’ll even have an option to auto-install the app once it’s available, how convenient is that?

This article is brought to you in partnership with Huawei.