After years of being banned from the nation, Google could be well on its way to having the Google Play Store return to China this fall.
According to a new report, the store could return, in a censored version, after Google removed its services from China in 2010 over surveillance and censorship concerns. Those concerns are not likely to have changed but what has certainly changed since 2010 is China's smartphone market base, which has exploded over 300 percent.
Google will reportedly use its close partners like Huawei to get back into the country, asking the major phone maker to include the Play Store with its Android phones sold in the nation. Even with a Chinese partner, the Play Store will require government approval, which almost certainly means a neutered offering that restricts popular apps like Twitter and Facebook. Google will also have to restrict what movies, books and music it sells in the nation, if it's even allowed to do so, at all.
Finally, the report claims that the Play Store will only work with Android Marshmallow devices, which means the launch will by tiny in the fall. The new operating system is expected to launch early next month alongside a new Huawei-built Nexus flagship.
Source:
The Information
Google will reportedly use its close partners like Huawei to get back into the country, asking the major phone maker to include the Play Store with its Android phones sold in the nation. Even with a Chinese partner, the Play Store will require government approval, which almost certainly means a neutered offering that restricts popular apps like Twitter and Facebook. Google will also have to restrict what movies, books and music it sells in the nation, if it's even allowed to do so, at all.
Finally, the report claims that the Play Store will only work with Android Marshmallow devices, which means the launch will by tiny in the fall. The new operating system is expected to launch early next month alongside a new Huawei-built Nexus flagship.
Source:
The Information
