Being on the US government trade blacklist has created uncertainty over Google’s essential Android apps on Huawei products. In response, the company has been working on the alternative to Google Media Services (GMS), which customers are used to.
Huawei has its Huawei Mobile Service (HMS), a suite of apps required for smooth functioning of mobile phones such as messaging and navigation, similar to Gmail, Google Maps and other programs.
Huawei’s sub-brand Honor is in talks with some top 150 app company’s in India, to get them integrated to the platform. The firm is offering to pay up to $17,000 from its $1 billion fund to the developers if their programs get published on HMS.
“We have our own HMS and are trying to build a mobile ecosystem. Most of the key apps such as navigation, payments, gaming and messaging will be ready by the end of December,” Charles Peng, CEO of Huawei and Honor India said.
Peng says consumers will not see many differences between HMS and GMS.
“We are focusing on how to work with developers to offer a good customer experience. It is a challenge that we are trying to address,” he said.
It’s not just Indian developers Huawei is hoping to entice into populating its own ecosystem, as the company is investing $1 billion globally as part of its HMS developer integration program. It recently announced a similar developer program in South Africa.
