Android app store market share in China 2022
Greener pastures within the Great Wall
The world’s second largest economy is already home to one of the largest populations of smartphone users, a number expected to hit 1.15 billion by 2023. It presents a viable market for app developers looking to launch their products. However, China’s mobile app door remains closed to outsiders. The market is distributed among various domestic shareholders with a majority controlled by the BAT trinity, that is, the internet titans Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent.
Different name, same game
In China, Android is the dominating mobile operating system. As the Google Play Store is not available in the country, various Android stores have been developed, resulting in a fragmented app store landscape. As of the time of writing, there were 25 major Android app stores in mainland China. On the other side, WeChat, the country’s hugely popular instant messaging app, has also been diversified into a large platform that allows for the publishing of other apps and mini programs much like the Google Play Store.