Exploring China’s Android Ecosystem: The Key Players, Platforms and Markets
Android is the leading mobile operating system in China, with a market share of 76%. However, Google has had a complicated relationship with China due to censorship issues. In 2010, Google stopped providing its services to China, including the Google Play Store and other Google services. This meant that Chinese smartphone manufacturers would have to develop their own versions of Android. Xiaomi was one of the first Chinese smartphone manufacturers to develop its own version of Android called MIUI. In 2014, Google announced that it would return to China with a new version of Android designed specifically for the Chinese market.