Kommersant: some RuStore applications work incorrectly on phones lacking Google mobile services

Certain food delivery and travel applications available on the Russian application store RuStore, created by Russia’s VK company, do not function correctly on phones that lack Google mobile services (GMS), for example on Huawei phones, Russian outlet Kommersant has learned. 

The outlet checked how well the RuStore apps work on Huawei phones that use the Android mobile operating system without GMS. Some apps, when you open them, show an error message stating there are no GMS; in fact, Burger King’s application does not work at all due to this error. Other applications do not display the map, meanwhile another app shuts down when you attempt to find your location.

VK said that, in the future, developers will be offered to use similar Russian mobile services, without specifying which ones. 

Huawei has not used GMS since 2019, when the US had imposed sanctions on the company. Instead, the Chinese corporation created its own analogue of GMS — HMS.

Several days ago, new versions under a different name of deleted applications of Russian banks Sber and VTB were deleted from the App Store. Their old apps were deleted after the war with Ukraine had started due to the imposed sanctions. Google also deleted the applications of the sanctioned banks from its store.

At the end of June, the government submitted a draft law to the State Duma, according to which new mobile phones for sale will have to have a Russian app store installed on them. Currently, there are only two such stores in Russia: VK’s RuStore and autonomous non-profit organisation Digital Platforms’ NashStore.