Indus Appstore, Xiaomi India partner to expand the homegrown app marketplace

Indus Appstore, owned by PhonePe, on Thursday entered into a multi-year alliance with Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi India to enhance app accessibility and discovery for Indian consumers. As part of the partnership, Indus Appstore will be integrated into all new Xiaomi smartphones in India, replacing the existing GetApps platform.

The collaboration aligns with the companies’ commitment to fostering a localised digital ecosystem, enabling Indian users to access mobile applications.

“By combining Xiaomi India's reach with our localised app discovery platform, we're creating opportunities for developers while delivering a seamless, culturally relevant experience to users. This partnership is just the beginning of our vision to transform how India discovers and experiences mobile apps,” said Priya M Narasimhan, Chief Business Officer of Indus Appstore, in a statement.

The integration of Indus Appstore is expected to contribute to a reliant digital infrastructure. Key highlights of the latest Indus Appstore version include multilingual app discovery in 12 Indian languages, a video-first experience for app previews, voice-enabled search supporting 10 Indian languages, and a comprehensive collection of over five lakh mobile apps and games across 45 categories.

Xiaomi India’s Chief Operating Officer, Sudhin Mathur, emphasised the growing need for a locally-driven app marketplace. “As India’s digital ecosystem continues to grow, the demand for a locally driven app marketplace has never been more critical. By integrating Indus Appstore with our ecosystem, we aim to offer users a seamless and enriched app discovery experience while also supporting Indian developers in reaching a wider audience.”

Recently, Indus Appstore also launched a web marketplace, showcasing app listings along with QR codes, allowing users to scan and download apps directly onto their smartphones.

Partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Xiaomi will play a crucial role in helping Indus Appstore gain traction, as it aims to compete with the Google Play Store in India. Currently, Indus Appstore can be downloaded from the company’s website, requiring users to manually install it on their smartphones. 

However, this process involves sideloading, which can be cumbersome due to the additional steps required. The company has previously partnered with Nokia and Lava to integrate the app store directly into their devices.