Huawei AppGallery Publishing & HMS Core Integration Guide

Why Publish on Huawei AppGallery?

Huawei AppGallery can be relevant when the target audience uses Huawei devices or when the product needs AppGallery-specific distribution and HMS capabilities. Validate the countries, device base, category eligibility, and required service migration before funding the release.

• Device fit — Measure the target audience's Huawei-device share by country
• China distribution — Treat mainland-China release, licensing, content, hosting, and compliance as a separate workstream
• HMS dependency — Inventory every Google service and define an HMS replacement, abstraction, or product decision
• Account terms — Confirm current registration, verification, tax, and payment requirements
• Commercial terms — Confirm the current AppGallery agreement, category, market, and promotion program before modeling net revenue

HMS Core vs Google Mobile Services

The biggest technical difference between Huawei and Google Play publishing is the service layer. New Huawei devices use HMS (Huawei Mobile Services) instead of GMS (Google Mobile Services).

What HMS Core Replaces

• Maps — HMS Map Kit replaces Google Maps API
• Push Notifications — HMS Push Kit replaces Firebase Cloud Messaging
• Authentication — Huawei Account Kit replaces Google Sign-In
• Analytics — HMS Analytics replaces Firebase Analytics
• In-App Purchases — HMS IAP replaces Google Play Billing
• Ads — HMS Ads Kit replaces AdMob
• ML Kit — HMS ML Kit provides similar on-device ML capabilities

Developer Registration

1. Visit developer.huawei.com and click "Register"
2. Create Huawei ID — Email verification required
3. Choose account type — Individual or Enterprise
4. Identity verification — ID document for individuals, business license for enterprises
5. Bank account — Required for monetization (supports international transfers)
6. Verification — Track the status and any follow-up request in the developer account

Choose the account type that matches the real publisher and current eligibility rules. Confirm service access, API quotas, commercial features, and authorized contacts in the account before implementation.

HMS Core Integration Setup

Setting up HMS Core in your Android project:

Step 1: AppGallery Connect Configuration

Create your app in AppGallery Connect (similar to Google Play Console). Download the agconnect-services.json file and add it to your app module (equivalent to google-services.json).

Step 2: Gradle Configuration

Add the Huawei Maven repository and AGConnect plugin to your project-level and app-level build.gradle files. Huawei provides detailed documentation for each SDK.

Step 3: SDK Integration

Add the specific HMS Core SDK dependencies your app needs. Only include the kits you actually use — each kit adds 1-5MB to your APK size.

Step 4: Testing

Test on a Huawei device or use Huawei's cloud debugging service (free for registered developers). The HMS Toolkit Android Studio plugin helps identify GMS dependencies that need migration.

GMS to HMS Migration

If your app currently uses Google services, you have three migration strategies:

Strategy 1: Dual SDK (Recommended)

Maintain GMS and HMS adapters in one codebase when the product and store packages can share them safely. Test capability detection, authentication, maps, push, billing, analytics, and failure behavior on the actual target devices.

Strategy 2: Separate Builds

Create separate APKs for Google Play (GMS) and AppGallery (HMS). Uses Gradle build flavors. Simpler code but requires maintaining two build configurations.

Strategy 3: HMS-Only

Full migration to HMS. Only suitable if you are targeting Huawei devices exclusively or if your app does not use many Google services.

App Submission Process

1. Log into AppGallery Connect
2. Create new app — Fill package name, category, supported devices
3. Upload APK/AAB — Huawei supports both formats
4. Complete app information — Description, screenshots, video (supports localization)
5. Privacy declaration — Similar to Google Play's Data Safety form
6. Content rating — Huawei's own rating system
7. Set pricing and distribution regions
8. Submit for review and track the store-controlled status and requests

Monetization on AppGallery

• Paid downloads — Verify product eligibility, countries, taxes, and the current fee schedule
• HMS IAP — Confirm supported products, billing SDK, server handling, and current commercial terms
• Huawei Ads — Evaluate supported formats, consent, data disclosures, geography, and measured yield
• Petal Ads — Huawei's advertising platform for user acquisition campaigns

Best Practices for Huawei AppGallery

1. Test on real Huawei devices — Emulators do not perfectly replicate HMS behavior
2. Localize for Chinese market — If targeting China, Simplified Chinese localization is essential
3. Use Huawei testing resources — Check the current device catalog, regions, quotas, and pricing in the official developer tooling
4. Implement HMS fallback — Gracefully handle cases where specific HMS kits are unavailable
5. Track both platforms — Use HMS Analytics for AppGallery and Firebase for Google Play