Google offers a new generation of its virtual reality platform to Chinese firms. (Photo : www.androidauthority.com)
Google Inc. is currently holding talks with Chinese government officials and mobile makers on the possibility of launching a new Android app store in the country, a move that would signal the company’s return to China, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The report cited insiders as saying that Google has been working for more than a year on a version of its Play app store that includes only government-approved apps and services.
The app store would be installed on new smartphones made for the Chinese market that run on Google's version of Android, the report added.
The insiders said that Google plans to have the new phones available by the end of the year, but it is still unclear if the company could hit its target as Google needs licenses that are yet to be approved by the government.
In 2010, Google shut down its operations in mainland China after cyberattacks against Gmail users and differences with the government regarding censorship of search results. Since that time, China has grown to become the world's largest smartphone market, while Apple Inc., Google's rival, became a leading player in the country.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, an outspoken critic of China's government in 2010, has been replaced by product chief Sundar Pichai, who became Google's chief executive later this year. Last year, Mr. Pichai announced that Google is "committed to serving the [Chinese] market the best we can."
Although Google's Android operating system is the most popular in the world, the Google-licensed version of Android is not available in China, which gave Chinese phone makers Xiaomi Inc. and OnePlus a chance to create their own versions of Android, while other firms such as Baidu Inc. created their own app stores.
Recently, Hiroshi Lockheimer, the head of Android, met with Hugo Barra, a former Android executive and now a top executive at Xiaomi, in Beijing.
According to the report, the company would like to get its version of the Play store on Google-approved Android phones in China to help better control the operating system and generate revenue from apps.
The report said that some Android phone makers are keen on selling their devices that run on Google-licensed Android software in China.
Huawei Technologies Co., which is set to launch a new Android phone under Google's Nexus brand in the U.S. in the coming weeks, has raised expectations that it may also make an Android phone compatible with a new Play store for China.
"I would be surprised if Google bent a knee to China and acquiesced to material government censorship," Carlos Kirjner, an analyst at Bernstein Research said, adding that Google hopes to "prevent, delay or limit" alternative versions of Android in China.
Kirjner noted that Google may find it difficult because Chinese companies like Qihoo 360 Technology Co., search-engine Baidu and social-networking company Tencent Holdings Ltd. already have their own app stores and services that are attached to mobile devices.
The report said that Google wishes to continue its services such as search and Gmail for Android devices in China in the long term.
As soon as Google Play store and official Android phones are in China, Google will use the opportunity to have more of its services unblocked in the country, one of the insiders was quoted as saying.
