The US Government’s ban on Huawei has resulted in a tussle between the two tech giants, Google and Huawei. Since Google restricted Huawei from using its services, the latter started developing alternatives to those services. Continuing with this strategy, they have recently rolled-out their Huawei Search app for smartphone users to replace Google Search.
Huawei Search App Is Out
Recently, Huawei has launched its replacement product that will seemingly give a tough time to Google. Specifically, they have launched the Huawei Search app – a dedicated search application for their smartphone users.
The XDA-Developers team has recently tested this app and have shared their observations in a blog post. As revealed, Huawei Search, for now, acts like a simple search app.
Though, it is not as comprehensive as Google’s app which connects users to Google Assistant, Google Lens, and other services.
Overall, it has a nice interface offering numerous quick search options for basic queries. For instance, it provides a shortcut to search for weather that is powered by Huafeng-AccuWeather. Also, it offers shortcuts for calculator, sports, and unit conversion.
It also empowers the users to manage different search settings, something necessary for a search app. As stated in their post,
In Settings, the user can see their search history (or toggle it off), give feedback, change their search region and language, toggle safe search, or change the app’s search scope, which controls what Huawei applications the Huawei Search app can also search through.
It comes with dark mode as well! Below is a preview of both light and dark themes as shared by XDA-Developers.
Presently In Beta Testing
Presently, the app is in beta testing mode, and not available for download to the public. with that said HuaweiCentral has shared a link to download the APK for testing purposes.
In future, the app will be available in the AppGallery – Huawei’s dedicated alternative to Google Play Store. Certainly, by the time it goes public, we may expect to find a more advanced version of it, comparable to Google. Not to forget that the Chinese tech giant has already developed HarmonyOS as a replacement for Google’s Android OS.
If you have tried, or are planning to give the app a try, then do share your experience with us.