Huawei AppGallery is adding South African apps and themes, but will people use it?

You’d be forgiven for not know it, but Huawei has its own mobile app store called the AppGallery. The Chinese phone maker has decided to team up with local app developers to feature their content on AppGallery. It’ll also feature designs by South African designers in its Theme Gallery.

“South African consumers increasingly want more apps that are relevant to their unique circumstances, addressing issues they experience regularly – such as load shedding or safety concerns – but also apps that celebrate South Africa’s multitude of cultures and this vibrant country,” says Lu Geng, director of Huawei’s Consumer Cloud Service for Southern Africa.

Worth it? Or nah?

If you feel like you’re missing something here, join the club. We haven’t come across anyone who prefers to use AppGallery instead of Google Play Store. If you live in Android land, you use Google’s store — that’s the consensus. Huawei’s rival Samsung has long tried to get consumers to care about its house-branded app store… and failed. So we have to wonder whether Huawei’s efforts will turn out any better.

We can appreciate Huawei’s willingness to feature local devs and artists, though. It means the company is serious about reaching — and supporting — the local market. We’re also pretty keen on local artists’ designs being featured in the Theme Gallery — it’s the one Huawei pre-installed app we’ve actually used aside from Huawei Health.

According to Huawei, the AppGallery is backed by a dedicated team that curates all the apps according to a specific market’s needs. All the apps are also checked for malware and any privacy leaks before being offered to consumers.

The South African apps already available in the AppGallery include 22Seven, Flight Centre, Namola, Zaful, News24, AA and Pineapple Insurance. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more themes in coming weeks and months.