Not long ago, the OneSky blog included some information about Chinese app stores as part of a larger post about Chinese mobile markets. Afterward, we got so many requests for more information on app localization in China that we’ve decided to publish regular content on the topic.
May 04, 2018 Tencent MyApp has solidified its position as China’s most popular Android app store, ranking 1 st for all 3 months in Q1. 360 Mobile Assistant (10.60%) Similar to Tencent MyApp, Qihoo 360 Mobile Assistant has maintained its stranglehold on 2 nd place, further strengthening Qihoo’s continued influence on software. Enjoy millions of the latest Android apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines & more. Anytime, anywhere, across your devices.
- How to Access Google Play Store in China If you have an Android phone and have been using the Google Play app store, you should know that Google Play is currently not available in China. If you plan to travel to China, you’d better be aware of this situation and get prepared.
- Baidu app store free download - Palm App Store (Palm OS), App Store Preview, Download App Store, and many more programs. Download app store with a new brand android app developer Qanje Rumbi.
- I have the same phenomenon across free apps in the App store. It results in approximately 1000 downloads from China per day, spread pretty evenly across about 15 apps. Each app download is around 100-200MB so that implies a reasonable burden on the App store servers if.
- There are in fact more than 200 Android app stores in China! The top 3 of them would be: 1. 360 Mobile Assistant (360手机助手) - 2.
In our first offering, we’ve put together a guide to Android app stores in China. Why focus on Android app stores? Because the Chinese market has over 200 of them. Navigating that world is essential to success in China, where more than 80% of smartphone users run Android, and Google Play is a relatively minor player in the app store scene.
Our new guide, “The Ultimate Cheat Sheet to Chinese Android App Stores,” (Download now!) compiles critical data for 26 of the most popular Android app stores in China. Here’s what it includes:
1. Comprehensive info about 26 of China’s top app markets
Our guide includes data on 26 companies—their websites, their developers’ websites, and the markets that they serve. We’ve also included information about contacting or submitting an app to each of these stores.
2. A Chinese email template for contacting app stores
Your initial contacts at Chinese app stores won’t necessarily read English well, so it’s essential to send your inquiry emails to them in both English and Chinese. To help you out, we’ve prepared a Chinese email template (with English explanations) that you can use to draft your inquiries. Get it here.
3. Frequent updates that track an evolving market
Market information changes rapidly. We’re happy to be your guide. We constantly monitor changes in the Chinese app market, and we’ll update the information on the cheat sheet regularly. Just bookmark this blog post or subscribe to the OneSky blog for updates.
Get the free guide now
Bonus: The ultimate cheat sheet to Chinese app publishers
We have also released our next cheat sheet, a guide to Chinese app publishers. Check this out.
Don’t miss out on localization resources and tips! Subscribe to our newsletter to learn the best tactics on launching in China and around the world.
About OneSky
OneSky provides seamless end-to-end localization solutions for thousands of mobile apps, games, websites, and businesses worldwide. We offer professional translation services in 50+ languages and a translation management system (TMS) with API integrations and plugins to streamline your workflow. We hire and carefully screen our own translators to ensure the highest control over quality. Using OneSky’s powerful QA features, cross-functional teams collaborate efficiently to deliver faster release cycles and higher quality translations. See how you can go global at www.oneskyapp.com
Written by Patrick Yip
Patrick Yip is the former Head of Marketing at OneSky. Heavily attracted to any brilliant growth strategy, well-crafted content and the idea of making the Internet globally accessible.
Related
If you have an Android phone and have been using the Google Play app store, you should know that Google Play is currently not available in China. If you plan to travel to China, you’d better be aware of this situation and get prepared. In this article, we will discuss this problem and also offer some methods and tips on how to access the Google Play store in China.
What Is Google Play Store?
Google Play is Google’s official app store and definitely one of the most popular app stores for Android phones. For people using an iPhone or an iPad, Apple’s App Store is the go-to place for downloading apps. For many Android users, Google Play Store is the equivalent. In addition to mobile apps, on the Google Play store you can also download games, books, magazines and other contents.
Is Google Play Available in China?
The short answer is no, at least for the time being.
If you buy an Android phone in China today, you won’t find the Google Play app store pre-installed on that phone. Instead, depending on the brand of the phone, it will come with some other app stores, mostly likely one offered by a Chinese company.
If you own an Android phone purchased outside of China which has Google Play pre-installed, when you visit China, you will find that you can no longer use it. That means, if you try to open the Google Play app, it won’t load. Therefore, you won’t be able to install new apps from there or update existing apps downloaded from the Google Play store.
Why is Google Play Not Available in China?
Most Internet users in China are aware of the existence of the so-called “Great Firewall of China” (or GFW), which represents China’s Internet censorship. As a result, many well-known websites and services, such as Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. are all blocked in China.
Google used to be available in China until five years ago when the company refused to self-censor its search results and then pulled its service out of China. After that, most Google services became inaccessible from China, including the Google Play app store.
Is It Possible for Google Play to Come to China?
Around late 2015 and early 2016, there has been some rumors and news suggesting that Google might launch a Chinese version of its Google Play in 2016 and as a result Android phone users would be able to access Google Play from China. However, since then there has been no follow-up news on this topic. So far the Google Play store is still not available and not accessible in China.
What Should I Do If I Can’t Access Google Play in China?
If you will only stay in China for a short period of time, you might be able to live without the Google Play store by not installing new apps or updating existing apps during your visit.
Or you can set up a VPN on your mobile devices to bypass the blocking and thus access the Google Play app store in China. We will list a few VPN services that work well in China in the later part of this article.
If you plan to stay in China for a long time and don’t want to bother with a VPN, you might consider installing some alternative Android app stores that are available in China. We will list a few of them in the later part of this article.
How to Use a VPN to Access Google Play Store in China?
You need to sign up a VPN service that’s functional in China (many VPN services are completely blocked in China as well). Once you have a VPN account, you can download its mobile app or manually setup the VPN connection on your Android device. To access the Google Play store from China, you just need to turn on the VPN first.
At VPNDada.com, we test VPNs from China and report which VPN services work well in China. Below are some VPN services that we recommend for being used in China:
1. ExpressVPN
Reason for recommending: Reliable connection, fast speed. Good customer support.
Starting Price: $6.67/mo (with special offer of 3 months free when choosing annual plan, click here to get this discount).
Free Trial: 30-day money-back.
Simultaneous Connections: 3 devices.
Starting Price: $6.67/mo (with special offer of 3 months free when choosing annual plan, click here to get this discount).
Free Trial: 30-day money-back.
Simultaneous Connections: 3 devices.
Visit ExpressVPN Read Our Review
2. NordVPN
Reason for Recommending: Reliable connection, fast speed. Windows Software includes obfuscation option to defeat China’s VPN blocking.
Starting Price: $3.29/mo. Free Trial: 30-day money-back.
Simultaneous Connections: 6 devices (if not connected to the same server with the same protocol)
Starting Price: $3.29/mo. Free Trial: 30-day money-back.
Simultaneous Connections: 6 devices (if not connected to the same server with the same protocol)
Visit NordVPN Read Our Review
3. VyprVPN
Reason for Recommending: Reliable connection, fast speed.
Starting Price: $5/mo. Free Trial: 30-day money-back guarantee.
Simultaneous Connections: 2-5 devices (depending on plan)
Starting Price: $5/mo. Free Trial: 30-day money-back guarantee.
Simultaneous Connections: 2-5 devices (depending on plan)
Visit VyprVPN Read Our Review
What Are Some Alternative Android App Stores in China?
If you consider installing alternative Android app stores to be used in China, below are some most well-known ones, all of which are offered by Chinese tech companies:
- Tencent App Store (腾讯应用宝)
- Qihoo 360 App Store (360手机助手)
- Xiaomi App Store (小米应用商店)
- Huawei App Store (华为应用市场)
- Baidu App Store (百度手机助手)
- Wandoujia (豌豆荚)
Conclusion:
Due to the Internet blocking, the Google Play app store is currently not available in China. It’s not pre-installed in Android phones sold in China and can’t be accessed from a mobile device in China. If you need to access Google Play in China, you can setup a VPN service on your Android device to bypass the blocking. You can also consider using alternative Android app stores provided by Chinese companies. There has been some news and rumors suggesting Google Play might be able to enter China in the future. However, this has not happened yet and let’s hope it will become true very soon.
In the meanwhile, you can use the following VPN services in China:
VPNRatingLinkNo. 1ExpressVPN Review» Get ExpressVPN
(3 month free)No. 2
NordVPN Review» Get NordVPN
English Android App Store China
(with discount)No. 3PureVPN Review» Get PureVPN
(with discount)No. 4
VyprVPN Review» Get VyprVPN
(with discount)VPN Discount Offer