Chinese mobile phone makers are joining forces to create a platform that will allow global developers to publish apps on their respective app stores simultaneously. The alliance between Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi could hinder the global dominance of Google Play Store on Android phones.
The new platform, called the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA), is scheduled for March and will initially cover nine regions, including Spain, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Alternative to Google Play Store on the way
The latest move by Chinese tech giants is likely to help "developers of games, music, movies and other apps market their apps in foreign markets," agents close to these companies told Reuters.
Xiaomi said the move is simply to make the process easier for global developers, and that they have no intention of competing with the Google PlayStore.
However, the alliance is a big step forward to become independent from Google PlayStore and its services.
Despite having a strong influence in the market, Chinese vendors fail to get users to visit their official app stores due to the lack of many essential third-party apps. The GDSA will likely help them resolve this issue.
The most benefited from this move, Huawei
While there's no mention of a Google PlayStore alternative, allowing developers to port apps that will appear simultaneously in all four app stores points in that direction.
Huawei is likely to get the most benefit from the project as the Chinese tech giant is already working on HarmonyOS, an alternative "Android" operating system.
A few days ago, Huawei said that it would not trust Google services, even if it gets its license back. This might be a long shot, but it looks like Huawei might ditch all ties with Google sooner or later.