As of October 2021, Huawei AppGallery had surpassed Oppo Software Store to be the biggest Android app store in China, controlling almost 38 percent of the app market. China’s technological advancement combined its ban on Google has caused its Android market to be flooded with several competing smartphone manufacturers each with its own app store.
Greener pastures within the Great Wall
The world’s second largest economy is already home to one of the largest populations of smartphone users, a number expected to hit 1.1 billion by 2022. It presents a viable market for app developers looking to launch their products. However, China’s mobile app door remains closed to outsiders. The market is distributed among various domestic shareholders with a majority controlled by the BAT trinity, that is, the internet titans Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent.
Different name, same game
In China, Android is the dominating mobile operating system. As the Google Play Store is not available in the country, various Android stores have been developed, resulting in a fragmented app store landscape. As of the time of writing, there were 25 major Android app stores in mainland China. On the other side, WeChat, the country’s hugely popular instant messaging app, has also been diversified into a large platform that allows for the publishing of other apps and mini programs much like the Google Play Store.
Market share of the Android app stores in China as of October 2021
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AppInChina. (March 8, 2022). Market share of the Android app stores in China as of October 2021 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1058612/china-android-app-store-market-share/
AppInChina. "Market share of the Android app stores in China as of October 2021." Chart. March 8, 2022. Statista. Accessed May 22, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1058612/china-android-app-store-market-share/
AppInChina. (2022). Market share of the Android app stores in China as of October 2021. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 22, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1058612/china-android-app-store-market-share/
AppInChina. "Market Share of The Android App Stores in China as of October 2021." Statista, Statista Inc., 8 Mar 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1058612/china-android-app-store-market-share/
AppInChina, Market share of the Android app stores in China as of October 2021 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1058612/china-android-app-store-market-share/ (last visited May 22, 2022)