Thanks to a new partnership in Europe, Turkey and Russia, Huawei’s App Gallery in those countries will push Deezer as one of the app store’s top apps along with Snapchat and TikTok. Huawei’s latest phones cannot run Google services or use the Google Play Store to download apps thanks to an ongoing trade ban from the US government. It has meant that Huawei has had to double down on improving its app selection for the European market. App Gallery serves the Asian market perfectly as Google barely has a presence in China, but without major Western apps Huawei phone sales have been struggling in Europe. Deezer’s Chief Executive Officer, Hans-Holger Albrecht, commented, “Huawei and Deezer share a culture of innovation and a challenger mindset. The new partnership with a global mobile leader helps us strengthen our foothold all over Europe. Huawei users can enjoy all of their favourite music and audio entertainment and find the plan that suits their needs the most.” Anyone who signs up for a new Deezer account through the App Gallery will get a three month free subscription to Deezer Premium. Deezer has 16 million monthly active users worldwide and its service is one of the better music apps out there with an attractive UI and very good selection and breadth of content. But its user numbers pale in comparison to Apple’s 60+ million and Spotify’s gargantuan 270+ million. With this new partnership, Deezer will be hoping it can gain some Huawei users and Huawei will be hoping that Deezer on its platform will convince buyers that they can live without the Google Play Store. Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.
