Reuters: Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo are working on joint backend download stores

Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo are going to start a joint backend for their own download stores for Android apps, Reuters news agency reports citing its own sources. The site for the initiative, Global Developer Service Alliance, is already online.

The intention is to go live with the initiative in March, Reuters reports. The manufacturers would still be working on the final touches. Developers can upload free and paid apps in the backend. The platform should go live in nine countries, but not in the Benelux. Spain is on the list of countries.

The site is already live, but it only shows Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. Those three manufacturers already work together in the Peer To Peer Transmission Alliance. With this they are developing a technique to exchange files between phones without an internet connection.

The intention is that developers will upload their apps to the GDSA, after which they will probably be available on all phones from those manufacturers. The four mentioned Chinese phone makers control 40 percent of the global smartphone market. The GDSA will operate in Spain, India, Indonesia, Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Paid apps are not available in all countries, including Spain.

Screenshot GDSA Console