PhonePe’s Indus Appstore To Replace Xiaomi App Store For India Smartphones

Indus Appstore to replace Xiaomi's app store

SUMMARY

Indus Appstore will replace the app store for Xiaomi smartphones in India starting in January.

The customers using Xiaomi’s devices will receive an update notification to replace GetApps with PhonePe’s Indus Appstore

GetApps’s team will continue to provide app installation and support services under the name Indus Services App

Fintech major PhonePe’s super app is reportedly set to replace app store in Xiaomi smartphones in India starting from January.

The Indian customers using Xiaomi’s devices will receive an update notification to replace GetApps with PhonePe’s Indus Appstore, TechCrunch reported.

Inc42 has reached out to PhonePe for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

Additionally, a customer notice revealed that GetApps’s team will continue to provide app installation and support services under the name Indus Services App.

In February, PhonePe launched Indus Appstore in English and 12 Indian languages with no app listing fee for developers till March 2025.

In a statement, the company said that the platform hosts more than 2 Lakh apps across 45 categories. Several Indian brands, including Zomato, Myntra, Domino’s, Flipkart, Dream11, and Swiggy, have published their apps on Indus Appstore.

It is pertinent to note that Indus Appstore allows app and game developers to use any third-party payment gateway for in-app billing without charging any commission fee. This gives it an edge over Google and Apple app stores, which charges 15% and 30% commission respectively.

In April, PhonePe also introduced an AI-powered voice search feature for 10 Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu among others on the Indus Appstore to facilitate users with easy ways to communicate in their regional languages.

While Indus Appstore already formed strategic OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partnerships with Nokia and Lava, the company is also in advanced talks with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its Indus Appstore on their devices.

PhonePe acquired the parent company of Indus Appstore in May 2022 for $90 Mn. It was originally cofounded by Rakesh Deshmukh, Akash Dongre and Sudhir Bangarambandi.

The fintech major posted a decline in its consolidated net loss by 28% to INR 1,996 Cr in FY24 from the INR 2,795 Cr loss in the last fiscal year.