Huawei is in discussion with a whole range of Australian developers to help pad out the company's own app store, according to local managing director, Larking Huang.
While Huang wasn't able to name specific apps, he says the company has been talking to Australian banks, media companies, and the government since the end of last year.
"The feedback from [developers] has been really positive," said Huang. "We're in the process of getting them on board."
Because of the dispute between Huawei and the US government, Huawei has effectively been cut off from Google. This means its new phones - such as the Mate XS - can't ship with Google apps and services, which includes the Google Play Store.
Huawei has been pitching its own app store, the Huawei App Gallery, as an alternative, but it's much smaller in scope when compared to its rivals. The Huawei App Gallery hosts over 45,000 apps, while the Google Play Store has almost 2.5 million apps.
If Huawei hopes to position its own app store as a genuine alternative to the Google Play Store, discussions such as the ones the company is having with Australian developers are crucial.
Given Huawei smartphones still run Android, the process of getting an existing Android application onto the Huawei App Gallery is in some cases very simple. In the best case scenario, Huang says it can take as little as half an hour to port over an app.
However, this timeframe can blow out to months in the case of apps that heavily rely on Google services. For example, if an app relies on Google Maps for data, parts of it would need to be completely written for the Huawei App Gallery.
Despite the trade ban, Huawei is still the second largest phone manufacturer in the world. The major of its sales come from its home market, China, but the manufacturer has had a lot of success in Europe. Because of this, Huang believes developers have a strong incentive to bring their apps to the Huawei App Gallery.
"Content owners need to consider their consumers as their first priority," said Huang. "Consumers who use Huawei phones also have the right to use the apps they want."
Of course, Huawei has a slight chance of reprieve. Google applied for a license that would allow it to resume doing business with Huawei at the end of February. If the license is granted, Huawei smartphones would be able to run Google apps and services again. It is unclear when a decision regarding the application will be made.
Huang declined to share thoughts on Google's application, but said that the company "remains committed to its relationship with Google".
Alex Choros
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