In this article, we will show you the structure of the AppGallery and its store files from the user's point of view, by comparing different tabs with those of the other two main platforms, the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
AppGallery is the official Huawei store, just like the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It will gradually be present in the new Huawei brand smartphones.
What is the user journey in the Huawei AppGallery app store?
An ad appears immediately before arriving on the main page: this differs from the Apple and Google Play stores.
⇒ After this announcement, users land on the tab Selection and are greeted by another batch of banners above the store. In this Selection tab, the most popular applications and editorially selected applications are displayed.
⇒ The featured tab is used to recommend new apps and games.
We're not sure how AppGallery selects apps in the Featured tab, but the algorithm is probably as sophisticated as Google Play which personalizes recommendations based on activity, profile, installs, geolocation, and keyword searches. ⇒Conversely, the Apple App Store takes a different direction by simply manually selecting the applications to be presented by editorial teams.
How does the user navigate through stores?
The bottom navigation is the key to navigate through the different tabs of the stores, to explore the new and best apps or to browse the different categories.
AppGallery has 5 tabs:
Featured: Store Recommended App Collections
Categories: browse different categories
Top: discover the best applications
Manager: management of updates and installed applications
Me: Store Settings and Gifts (a unique AppGallery feature that we'll get to in a minute)
Compared to Play Store and App Store having separate tabs for games and regular apps, AppGallery does not split tabs for games and regular apps.
1. The Categories tab
In the Categories tab of AppGallery, you can see most of the categories that exist in the Play Store and App Store. What is more interesting is that the Games category is included in the rest of the categories. In the store you will find 18 categories : Games (subcategories: action, board, puzzle, role-playing games, simulation and sports), books and references, business, cars, communication, education, finance, food & drink, kids, lifestyle & convenience, media & entertainment, navigation, custom themes, photography, shopping, sports & health, tools and travel & housing.
2. The Top Apps tab.
In AppGallery, you can find both top games and regular apps in one view. In the Play Store and App Store, classic apps and games are separated into two different tabs. The top apps on the Play Store can be viewed by different collections such as Top Free, Top Paid, Top Grossing and Trending Apps, while the App Store only shows the first two categories. Finally: apps on the AppGallery can be installed from the leaderboard. The button's UI looks noticeably similar to the App Store rather than the AppGallery's Play Store.
3. The Manager tab.
The Manager tab is equivalent to “Updates” on the App Store or the “My Apps & Games” section on the Play Store. Here the user can manage app updates, currently installed apps, search for manually downloaded files or simply perform a cleanup of their smartphone's internal memory.
4. The Me tab.
In the Me tab, users can find features related to their HUAWEI ID. It contains everything from settings. You can switch to different regions (you can't select the US), check your reviews there or even make app requests in the Wishlist section.
Note that in the Me tab, there is a feature called Gifts, which will take users to the Gift Center. This is a unique approach by AppGallery to engage users with the product and promote the store itself. A user may receive discounts, in-game currencies, or other benefits for installing apps through AppGallery. It is definitely a good way to encourage users to explore and discover new products while getting additional benefits.
How can a user search for an app in AppGallery?
We talked about navigating AppGallery. But what about users who are looking for certain apps? In AppGallery (like Google Play), the search bar always appears at the top of all tabs, making search more easily accessible than in the App Store, where you have to click on the tab first.
When searching for keywords, AppGallery has a feature that immediately displays app suggestions during real-time keyword searching and allows the user to install the app without completing the search. Of course, the Play Store and App Store have real-time auto-suggestions based on search popularity as users type in the search bar. AppGallery makes downloading even easier. Appearing in this location for top keywords will be a crucial part of keyword optimization for Huawei.
search results
Search results in the AppGallery contain a list of apps, where app icons, app names, categories, and the first sentences of app descriptions are present. This looks similar to Play Store search results, except users can install the app immediately without consulting the store listing, which appears to be on loan from Apple's App Store. The Play Store only allows users to download the app in search results if it is a branded search, or by long-pressing on the result.
Mobile app lists
The list of stores on AppGallery is not much different in interface. So it seems that Play Store and App Store best practices can be adapted. It shows two full vertical screenshots or a landscape screenshot (In the Apple Store the application icon is present at the top, a video of the app if present and therefore the first two or three screens ). An install button is attached at the bottom and is always within reach when scrolling through the rest of the store list. A short description appears below the screenshots, somewhat similar to the new Google Play hardware layout.
The introduction in the appGallery is the long description of the Google Play Store and Apple Store.
Featured Store List
AppGallery offers fully customized store listings with a feature chart and custom colored background.
This is a lot like the previous App Store where top developers could upload a feature graphic and set their own color scheme. These days, the App Store still includes feature charts for top developers, but it no longer allows custom colors.
Here are some key points to remember:
- The structure of AppGallery is very similar to the App Store and Play Store, with equivalent tabs such as Featured Apps, Categories and Top Chat.
- The search experience on AppGallery is smoother than in the Play Store as users can install the app directly from live results.
- Offering discounts, in-game currencies and other benefits in the Gift Center is a unique approach of AppGallery to engage users with different applications and thus work their fid. Developers can use this opportunity to encourage users to download or re-download their apps.
- Developers generally appear to be able to reuse their current assets on the Play Store or App Store in AppGallery, thanks to the similarity of store listing pages between the three stores.
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