Mobile developers can be a strange bunch that is no easy to handle at times. Anyone that has been part of the mobile development industry longer than a few years knows that too well.
Knowing how developers can be so handy, it is almost incomprehensible to learn that the Huawei Mobile Service Ecosystem has attracted over 1.6 million developers. In 2018 there were only 560,000 registered developers on their platform. Adding half a million developers year by year is a magnanimous achievement.
To make things vivid for even the greatest skeptics, here is our take on what drove the hordes of mobile developers to the HMS platform.
Access to a Massive Market
Even though Google’s userbase numbers billions, Huawei’s 600 million active users spread worldwide are no joke. Having access to such a massive userbase is a pretty strong motivation for almost any developer.
Incentives for Developers
Last year, Ken Hu Houkun, a deputy chief in Huawei, announced that they plan to invest $1.5 billion to grow their developer base. Since then, they have been doing so, giving various incentives to developers that create apps for their platform.
Then, developers get to keep most of the profit that they make through the Huawei AppGallery. On the other side of the specter, they have Apple and Google taking big chunks of their profit.
Access to 5G Tech
Creating apps that will leverage 5G is the next big thing, and mobile developers know that quite well. Huawei has been the leader in developing 5G technology since its early days and is pressing high even today despite the US setbacks.
The Incredible Versatility of the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS)
Huawei has invested hundreds of millions, if not billions, into creating the best possible HMS Core ecosystem. With every new update, they introduce various features that range from AI, ML, encryption, security, data management, to top of the line audio management through their latest audiokit. The HMS Core is the nest for their massive community of developers.
Then there are the “not so” little things such as remote bugging, around the clock support, massive knowledge base, and many more features available exclusively with the HMS.
They also like that, unlike with the Play Store and the AppStore, publishing an app in the app gallery is straightforward. That seems to resonate pretty well with developers that are always pushing new apps on the Huawei AppGallery.
In Conclusion
The army of developers making apps for the Huawei and Honor phones are already doing a great job. Will that be enough to disrupt the duopoly of Apple and Google is still unclear.
A tech giant such as Microsoft has tried to enter that arena and has failed miserably. Huawei seems determined to succeed where Microsoft failed. The billions poured in this race by Huawei for building a new mobile ecosystem that will be competitive with the leading ones speaks volumes about their determination. But as always, time will be the judge and determine whether their efforts will come to fruition.