Huawei’s AppGallery offers over thousands of apps.
Ian Knighton / CNET
Over the past year, Huawei has gradually improved its dedicated AppGallery, which competes with Apple’s App Store and Google Play. This week, Bolt, the first hailstorm app to serve the European market, will receive an important innovation, according to people familiar with the project.
Bolt is an Estonia-based company that is quickly gaining a foothold in European countries, including London, where it has a reputation for being a cheaper alternative to Uber. The offer varies from country to country, but also includes bicycles, scooters and on-demand car trips. Food should be delivered at a later date.
The inclusion of Bolt in the AppGallery is a blessing for Huawei, which Uber does not currently have in the App Store. Since The U.S. government’s trade ban came into effect last year The company has tried to prevent Huawei from providing Google services on its phones, including the Google Play Store, and is trying to become increasingly self-sufficient in software. This meant ensuring that the App Store, which was launched in 2018, offers the most popular apps available on other platforms, or at least strong alternatives to the main players.
An important example of this is Here WeGo Maps, an established rival of Apple and Google Maps, developed by Nokia for Windows Phone in 2013. The AppGallery now also offers some important apps for social networks, including Viber, Telegramm, TikTok, Tinder, Zoom, Badoo. Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are still not offered, but there are other ways to transfer them to your Huawei device.
Huawei is currently the third most popular phone brand in Europe after Samsung and Apple. In March, the Financial Times identified Bolt as the third fastest growing company in Europe. Participation in Huawei’s AppGallery opens up a whole new market for Bolt customers, while the introduction of Bolt for Huawei represents an essential service for the business.