While Google Maps is available on the desktop in China, accessing it via your mobile device through its app isn’t. Presumably this might have to do with China’s censorship of the internet and trying to encourage residents to rely on local services and products, rather than turn to their western counterparts.Recent a report surfaced on Nikkei in which it was suggested that Google Maps for mobile had been “relaunched”, but it seems that Google is denying those claims. In a statement made by Google spokesman Taj Meadows to Reuters, it reads, “There have been no changes to Google Maps in China. Maps has been accessible on desktop for years, but does not have an official presence in Android or iOS app stores in China.”
Of course having their services available in China would no doubt prove to be a huge boon for Google, especially when you consider the vast population of the country. Google had pulled many of its services from the country back in 2010 after they refused to self-censor its search results, following which Google’s presence in the country isn’t as big as it likes.
Even certain Android handsets do not come with Google Play Services installed, but rather it comes with local alternatives such as Baidu, Xiaomi, Tencent, Huawei, and so on, all of whom have launched their own app stores for Android.
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