Google to launch Play Store app in China next year

The product and its services will be launched as a Chinese version, to which smartphones can search and download various apps.

Google’s top executives have not been quiet in their stand of wanting for the company to be back in China and Google Play might just be the first experimental product they will start with.

The people familiar with the matter said that the global search giant wants to comply with Chinese laws on filtering content which requires Google to keep the app store’s data within China.

A new dedicated version of the app that’s “not connected to overseas versions of Google Play” will launch in China, according to Reuters.

Finally, Google reminds us that we should check in-store availability for an item before rushing out to the store.

If you’re sitting down to plan your Black Friday strategy – maybe making your spreadsheet of places to hit and when – if you’re that kind of Black Friday shopper, then Google has some data to help make you more efficient.

Google lost a lot of revenue by dropping out from the Chinese market. It has maintained a limited presence in the world’s biggest smartphone market, but most of its services, including Play, have been rendered borderline inaccessible.

Regarding the timing of the launch, the sources said that it could be made some time after Chinese New Year in February next year, and before early summer. Official announcement from Google is yet to come if it was able to get permission from the Communist country to launch Google Play Store. That was echoed by PapayaMobile’s Shen. Google is yet to finalise on what products and services it would release next year in China. Apple has complied with all of the local laws of the country and managed to earn $ 58.7 billion from there in the year ending Sep 26 including the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong which makes it their second largest market.

Because services like its search, e-mail and mapping are blocked in China, the USA firm is trying to cement partnerships with domestic providers like Mobvoi, which offers technology similar to Apple’s Siri and Google’s own version.