Apple Competitor Huawei is considering to take a cut of in-app purchases in their Operating System HarmonyOS
A billboard advertising Huawei's Harmony OS. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg. Click on image to Greatly Enlarge
It's being reported this morning that Huawei Technologies Co. is considering taking a cut of in-app purchases on its Harmony mobile operating system, underscoring its growing confidence in competing with Apple Inc. in the world’s largest smartphone arena.
Bloomberg reports that "The Shenzhen-based company is weighing a commission lower than the typical cut that Apple and Alphabet Inc.’s Google take for payments made via their mobile stores for things like apps, games, movies and music subscriptions, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei has kept Harmony OS fee-free until now, as an enticement to bring developers and publishers on board.
For games in particular, which account for the majority of mobile app store revenue, Huawei has been discussing a fee of about 20% with developers, the people said. They asked not to be identified as the information is private. Rival Android store operators in China, such as Xiaomi Corp., charge as much as 50% on in-game purchases. Huawei has not yet made a final decision and its plans could still change, according to the people.
Huawei’s imminent move suggests the Chinese tech conglomerate feels it has grown its user and developer base to the point where it can begin collecting rent. The company shifted to its in-house Harmony OS after US sanctions cut it off from working with Google, the proprietor of Android.
The envisioned commissions would still place Huawei’s 4-year-old Harmony ecosystem below market competitors. The company has to convince both users and app makers to embrace new store fees.