PhonePe-owned Indus Appstore on March 13 announced a multi-year alliance with Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi India to pre-install its mobile app marketplace on devices sold in the country, a move expected to boost adoption of the homegrown Android app store.
As part of the agreement, Xiaomi will also replace its app marketplace GetApps with Indus Appstore on existing devices. Moneycontrol had earlier reported this development in November 2024. The move also comes as PhonePe prepares for its market debut.
"Our partnership with Xiaomi India marks a significant milestone towards our goal of building a horizontal app store for Indian mobile users and developers," Indus Appstore chief business officer Priya M Narasimhan said.
"By combining Xiaomi India's reach with our localised app discovery platform, we're creating opportunities for developers while delivering a seamless, culturally-relevant experience to users. This partnership is just the beginning of our vision to transform how India discovers and experiences mobile apps."
As India’s digital ecosystem continues to grow, the need for a locally driven app marketplace has never been more critical, Xiaomi India chief operating officer Sudhin Mathur said. "At Xiaomi India, we have always championed ‘Make for India’ innovations, and this partnership with Indus Appstore is a strategic step in that direction," Mathur said.
"By integrating Indus Appstore with our ecosystem, we aim to offer users a seamless and enriched app discovery experience, while also supporting Indian developers in reaching a wider audience.”
Tie-ups with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Xiaomi will be critical for Indus Appstore to drive adoption, as it harbours ambitions of challenging Google Play Store in the country.
The home-grown challenger
The Indus Appstore is available on the company’s website where consumers can download and manually install it on their smartphones. The process is cumbersome due to the friction involved in sideloading apps. The company has previously announced partnerships with Nokia and Lava to integrate the app store with their devices.
In recent months, Indus Appstore also introduced a web marketplace that features app listings along with QR codes, enabling users to scan and download apps directly on their smartphones.
Launched in February 2024, one of the key selling points of Indus Appstore has been zero percent fee on in-app purchases compared to the 15-30 percent charge levied by Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app marketplace also allows developers to list their apps in 12 Indian languages apart from English as well as upload media and videos to their app listings in these languages.
In November, the company rolled out a new version of its app marketplace featuring richer visuals and user interface tweaks. Among other features, the app marketplace also offers a video-led app discovery system and voice-enabled search. Indus Appstore claims to currently offer over 5 lakh mobile apps and games across 45 categories.
Xiaomi claims to have shipped more than 250 million smartphones and another 100 million devices since starting operations in India in 2014. It is looking to double the shipments to 700 million over the next 10 years.
The company has its job cut out. Once a dominant player in India’s smartphone market, Xiaomi slipped to seventh place in January, according to IDC’s latest monthly data.
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