Google Play in China

Since Google services are blocked in China, there is no Google Play. Third-party app stores have taken the lead. At this moment there are over 400 third-party app stores. Tech powerhouses, smartphone suppliers and mobile network providers together hold the 80% android app market share in China.

It is no surprise that software giant Tencent is leading the app markets. With the far reach and huge audience Tencent reaches they pretty much dominate the Chinese market with every internet related technology. The second and third place in the list of third-party app stores belongs to phone manufacturers Oppo and Huawei. These tech companies provide alternatives to the global trendy brands doing mobile phones such as Apple.

For many tech related new items such as mobile phones and basically any IoT product using Android is a fairly easy and cheap solution. Google delivered Android to the public years ago and it has been growing ever since. The Operating system is optimised for handheld devices and gives lots of features that cover at least the basics of most devices. Also, worth mentioning, is the fact that the OS is written in Java, a fairly common programming language, meaning that Android can easily be modified or changed into something new. The result is that even though Google is blocked in China, almost the complete Chinese market is running on the operating system that is created by Google.

If you want see how this works for yourself, check out the app markets listed below.