Here’s what South Africans are using Huawei’s Google-less App Store for in 2020

Following the now notorious trade war between the United States and Google, Huawei was forced to jump through a few hoops to keep their devices up to the standards we expect from Android technology. Since the removal of the Google Play Store, Huawei has implemented their very own solution, the Huawei App Gallery (which clearly didn’t cost much in the branding department). The big question was: would anyone actually use the thing?

Turns out they will, at least according to Huawei. We have a better understanding of how South Africans are using a wholly new app store. It might surprise you to find that that…well, we’re actually getting on just fine. And so, apparently, is Huawei.

Top 26 AppGallery apps by total downloads (Q1 2020)

1-5 SHAREit Truecaller: Caller ID, spam blocking & call record Booking.com DStv Now TikTok – Make Your Day

6-10 Showmax – Watch TV shows and movies Mr D Food – delivery & takeaway Standard Bank/Stanbic Bank SuperSport Snapchat

11-15 SwiftKey Keyboard CamScanner VidMate Load Shedding Notifier Aliexpress

16-20 InShot – Video Editor VIU – TV Shows, Movies & more Absa Banking App Likee – Formerly LIKE Video Takealot–SA’s #1 Online Mobile Shopping App

21-26 Woolworths Moya Messenger #datafree SnapScan Deezer: play new music, live radio & any MP3 song JOOX Music My Vodacom

It’s worth noting that the data provided by Huawei doesn’t actually include any solid numbers in terms of the apps that were downloaded, just a list sorted by popularity. It won’t come as a surprise that the most heavily downloaded apps are local services and quality of life improvements. SHAREit, an app used to efficiently transfer data across platforms, was the most popular utility app, likely due to many new Huawei owners not being able to carry data over via their Google account.

After SHAREit, South Africans downloaded TrueCaller, to filter out all those annoying spam calls, Booking.com, which is weird given that people aren’t exactly travelling these days, DStv Now and TikTok. So that’s a pretty standard top five most downloaded apps. Everything that follows includes banking apps, food delivery services and service provider apps. Interesting, WhatsApp didn’t occur in the top 20 most downloaded apps, but Moya Messenger did. Perhaps a change in the wind…

Top 26 AppGallery Games by total downloads (Q1 2020)

1-5 Lords Mobile Nitro Nation Drag & Drift Asphalt 9: Legends – Epic Arcade Car Racing Game Word Search Puzzle WWE Champions 2019

6-10 Real Gangster Crime Ms PAC-MAN Stump Me- Can you pass it? Asphalt 9: Legends – 2019’s Action Car Racing Game Slots of Vegas

11-15 Moto Rider GO: Highway Traffic Champions Manager Mobasaka Zombie Frontier 3: Sniper FPS Brain Games Highschool Dangerous Lies: Teen Story – Love Game

16-20 Soccer 2019 Top Speed: Drag & Fast Racing Vegas Crime Simulator – Real Mafia Gangster Guns of Glory: Build an Epic Army for the Kingdom Looney Tunes™ World of Mayhem – Action RPG

21-26 Candy Blast Storm Words of Wonders: Crossword to Connect Clash of Kings Brick Game – Classic Tetris – Classic Blocks Puzzle Trial Xtreme 4

As for games… well, South Africans have always had a thing for racing and…fantasy kingdoms, apparently. Lords Mobile, a role-playing MMO dominated the number one spot while Nitro Nation Drag & Drift and Asphalt 9: Legends took second and third respectively. After that, Word Search Puzzle and WWE Champions 2019 close out the top five places.

So all-in-all, it seems that those of us able to overlook the lack of a Google Play Store are faring just fine with Huawei’s App Gallery. While the lack of solid download numbers may cause speculation as to how many people are currently using that ecosystem, until we see some proper numbers it’s impossible to judge that metric. Still, it’s encouraging to see South Africans adapting to new circumstances, something that seems to be happening more and more these days.