Have you just bought a new Huawei smartphone and don't know how to download your favorite apps? You will find the solution to the problem in Huawei AppGallery, the brand's digital store from which you can download hundreds of thousands of applications including most likely the ones you are looking for.
But let's take a small step back first. What is AppGallery and how does it work? Why is there no Google Play Store on Huawei smartphones? Here you will find the answer to all your questions regarding this alternative application store.
Almost everyone is now aware of the story that has been affecting Huawei for several months, namely the impossibility for the brand to have commercial relations with US companies due to the restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, the outgoing President of the USA, and which barring surprises will continue to remain in force even under the leadership of the new President-elect, Joe Biden.
Among the companies that cannot do business with Huawei there is also one of those who was once one of the company's main partners, Google, which overnight found itself unable to do business anymore with the Shenzhen giant and this has led to drastic consequences. Google was first of all forced to revoke the license for the use of Android from Huawei smartphones, causing serious problems for the Chinese giant, which was thus no longer able to count on the support of all the services offered by the Mountain View house, starting primarily of Google Play Services and the Google Play Store.
Huawei thus had to run for cover and quickly find alternatives capable of making up for these shortcomings, one above all precisely the presence of a dedicated store for apps, which can be implemented on its smartphones, starting from the Mate 30 Pro. The solution created ad hoc by the Chinese company is called Huawei AppGallery and is based on Huawei Mobile Services.
What is Huawei AppGallery?
As Huawei also reports on its official website, "AppGallery is the official app distribution platform for Huawei smartphones and tablets".
Available in over 170 countries worldwide, it represents the third largest app marketplace in the world and was created directly by the Chinese giant to make up for the absence of the Play Store on its most recent devices. It can also be installed on non-Huawei smartphones, greatly expanding the user base it is able to reach.
Is the Huawei AppGallery safe?
As with the Play Store, the AppGallery allows you to download any application available within it, whether games or other, with maximum security. The same apps before being included on the platform are subjected to as many as four levels of control.
Huawei AppGallery has a full-cycle security and protection system, which includes verification of the developer's real name, download and installation protection, as well as a prevention mechanism for the safe operation of apps.
What can I download from the Huawei AppGallery?
The most recurring question in recent months has been: "Do I find all the apps I need in the AppGallery?" Let's say that the situation has gradually improved day after day and now we are faced with an almost complete store, with the presence of almost all the most requested apps.
The catalog is now really extensive and it is difficult to list them all, what is certain is that a user who decides to buy a Huawei smartphone will hardly regret the choice. Most of the applications are downloadable for free while in other cases the download is possible by paying the required sum. How to do? Simple, just create a Huawei ID and then enter a credit or debit card.
As mentioned at the beginning, the user will certainly not have the Google apps available and this lack could create some problems for those who use them particularly intensively. If in some cases, they can be replaced by apps developed by Huawei or by partners, in other cases you will have to resort to alternative methods if you really want to continue using Google services.
The Huawei app store also offers the possibility of taking advantage of the Quick Apps, i.e. applications that can be used without the need to be installed. Simply look for them in the dedicated section, click on the selected one, possibly add it to the home screen and it will start immediately, but will never be installed on the device and therefore will not occupy memory on the phone.
Among these we find support for some particularly useful apps such as those for home delivery of food, those for shopping but also services and multimedia content.
If the request for adding Quick Apps to the home screen does not appear immediately, you can perform another step, enter the "Manage" section, then "Manage Quick Apps", click and hold on the app you are interested in using and press "Add to Home screen".
In short, not everyone knows it, but not having Google services can have disadvantages but also many advantages!
What are the requirements to use Huawei App Gallery?
The first thing to do to enjoy a complete experience is to register and create a Huawei ID for free and it represents your gateway access to all the services offered by the company (including Huawei AppGallery, Cloud, Health, Wallet and much more). We remind you that on all Huawei smartphones it is already pre-installed at startup while on other devices it is necessary to download it directly from the dedicated page of the official Huawei website.
In this phase you will be asked to enter the user's personal data, together with a verified email address or telephone number. It will also be necessary to enter a password and give the ok to synchronize data with Huawei's cloud services such as the Gallery, Contacts, data backup and search via Browser. Once registered you will be ready to access the infinite potential offered by the world of AppGallery.
How does Huawei AppGallery work?
By opening the Huawei app store, most users will automatically be able to search and download the desired apps, also considering the fact that everything is positioned in a clear with well-designed menus and the subdivision of the apps into different categories, to make the search even more immediate.
To search for an app, just click in the bar at the top and write the name of the app itself, then pressing on the magnifying glass, the system will provide all the results found. If the app is available, it will appear at the top of the search and just click on the "Install" button to start the download. In case you weren't looking for a specific application, you can move around the app menu and scroll through the various categories.
In fact, the store has a series of icons at the bottom that identify the category you are viewing. We find the section dedicated to "Recommended" therefore to all the apps that Huawei recommends to the user based on the news or searches carried out by the user previously, the "App" category, where it is possible to navigate to identify the most interesting ones and then in another separate section, the "Games" were inserted.
Among the apps you can find various sections such as the "Most Popular Apps", the "Innovative", the "Indispensable", the "Best of the Month", the "Quick Apps" we mentioned earlier and finally all the categories to have an even more precise subdivision.
In the section dedicated to games we also find in this case macro subdivisions such as "Most fun", "top collections", those in "preview", in "highlight", the "best of the month" and as for the classic apps , also in this case, at the bottom of the page you can find all the categories and the "recommended for you".
It is important to underline that for each application, the user has the possibility to review it by leaving a comment visible to all and give a score using the stars, from 1 to 5, which will give life to the average rating of each individual app. An aid for the user, as is the case with the Google Play Store, to be able to check in advance whether it is a reliable, well-crafted or useful app.
Applications can also be shared, just click on the icon at the bottom left and send it via social networks or messaging apps. To leave your comment or review on the app you must first download the application and then click on the icon always at the bottom, but to the right of the install item and you can thus express your opinion.
As mentioned, the last item in the horizontal menu at the bottom is the "User" item. In this section it is possible to log in through your Huawei ID, search for and update the apps installed on your device but above all manage a series of items concerning your account. Among these we find a section dedicated to "Gifts", where particular content or additional subscriptions are available free of charge for apps or games.
It is also possible to use Huawei Points within the store, a sort of virtual credit to be used for the purchase of various contents within the platform or to subscribe to the services offered by Huawei and which are accumulated through the downloading the apps or precisely through the purchase of paid apps or through the subscription to the services.
Continuing in the section we find other items such as the "Comments" which allows you to view all the reviews released within the store, the "Wish list", the "Purchase history" and the "Installation management" item allows the user to check all the apps installed on the smartphone, manage their preferences and permissions and even uninstall them. There is also the "installation packages" item which allows you to load the APK packages present on the device.
Finally, still within the user menu, it is possible to manage the "Settings" of the AppGallery, useful for managing preferences relating to app updating, downloading even with a mobile network, deciding whether to receive notifications relating to each app and possibly which ones to exclude and check that you have installed the latest version of the store owned by the Chinese company.
Future prospects
It goes without saying therefore that the alternative to the Google Play Store designed and created by Huawei is particularly similar and easy to use like many other solutions seen by various manufacturers in recent years. Above all, thanks to the latest graphic updates and the arrangement of the different sections, everything is very intuitive and you never get the feeling of being in the wrong part.
The premises for the Huawei AppGallery to become a valid alternative to the well-known Google or Apple stores are all there. It will still take a little patience for all the apps present elsewhere to arrive on the AppGallery as well, but if the Asian technological giant continues to walk quickly in this direction, it is practically certain that within a few months we will be able to speak of an app store capable of keep up with the other solutions and maybe do even better, especially in view of the adoption rate it is already having among users.