Huawei’s AppGallery, the tech giant’s official app platform and the world’s third largest app marketplace, has captured the attention of users across the UAE despite it being a relatively new player to the market.
Huawei achieved this by adopting a “glocal” strategy which combined the best attributes of globalized collaboration with those of localized business operations, hence encouraging developers to create innovative and high-quality apps that enhance the experience for users in the Emirates.
Designed for all users
HUAWEI AppGallery offers consumers in the UAE a boutique app experience with intuitive apps that integrate the best elements from around the world while adapting them to the needs of users in the UAE.
Through the dual principles of “glocal” and "Security above all else", only quality apps are selected with personalized recommendations that are based on the needs, requirements and preferences of users in the UAE. These apps aim to enrich the lives of users through locally driven content and services. This brings added convenience to consumers by removing the trial and error approach of searching through a sea of apps for the most suitable choice.
Consumers are often confronted with App platforms that are packed with a vast selection of apps. However, a lack of screening or filtering leaves many confused when searching for a particular app. This is made more complicated with the huge increase in the number of smart devices, which means developers need to account for different hardware, thereby affecting app performance.
Huawei is well placed to offer users a more integrated experience across devices due to the experience it has built up by developing a wide range of smart consumer-facing electronics products.
As a result, Huawei is uniquely positioned to directly engage with users in the UAE and address their demands with quality apps, especially in times where staying at home is still encouraged. This means dedicated apps for stylus-equipped tablets, foldable phones and the App Multiplier feature work cohesively with devices to deliver a more comfortable and interactive user experience.
HUAWEI AppGallery has been tailored to ensure that only premium services are accessible, encompassing globally distributed apps and popular local UAE content. It integrates a stringent app screening mechanism as well as an exclusive classification system that is applied on a global scale.
This approach has seen HUAWEI Video secure over 140 million monthly active users (MAUs), and in-depth collaboration with global and regional partnerships and content partners. Huawei smartphone users in the UAE are free to browse a rich pool of content, which is global in scope but local in character, to enjoy immersive entertainment at any time.
HUAWEI Music aims to enrich the lives of its listeners with the sounds they crave and has so far gathered tens of millions of tracks from leading music production companies. It is now available in over 100 countries and regions around the world, with more than 160 million MAUs.
*Note: All MAU data is as of the end of 2019.
End-to-End support for UAE and regional developers
Huawei understands the crucial role developers in the region can play in creating apps that cater to the needs of users. As such it provides app developers with localized operation support. In fact, the "Shining-Star" program committed 1 billion USD in comprehensive assistance for the less downloaded, under-monetized apps, as well as quality local apps in innovative development, app publication, application integration and lifecycle end-to-end operation along with point-to-point technical assistance.
The "Shining-Star" program is complemented by the all-new Huawei DigiX Labs initiative, where Huawei works closely with local developers to fine-tune the user experience in AppGallery. Huawei DigiX Labs are focused on innovation, testing, R&D and various services, in wide-ranging technological fields such as gaming, education, child care, financial services, quick apps, AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
DigiX Labs play an important role in final device commissioning, development capability testing and tool experience fine-tuning, and have so far made it to eight global cities: Dubai, Dublin, Moscow, Dusseldorf, Warsaw, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Singapore.
HUAWEI Developer Day (HDD) events provide opportunities for both Huawei and app developers to discuss industry trends, new technologies and previous cases, so that outside developers can fully leverage the shared capabilities and services of Huawei's consumer business. This in turn delivers more integrated and innovative experiences to the end user.
In 2019, 45 HDDs were held in 32 countries, with tens of thousands of developers including many from the UAE participating in-person. This resulted in 163% (yoy) more developers outside of China opting to design for the AppGallery platform. In the near future, HDD will continue to expand its footprint to cover Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, and Latin America etc., to share the unique benefits of AppGallery with interested developers around the world, and to build a seamless AI life.
HUAWEI AppGallery has quickly established itself as one of the top 3 app marketplaces globally where users can enjoy a safe finetuned experience. By supporting UAE-based developers in creating exciting apps, local users will be able to enjoy even more enhanced experiences tailored to their needs.
