Play Market on Xiaomi: What is the official app store and how to use it

If you've just bought a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone and you're trying to find a familiar Google Play Market, but you see a strange app with a dot-square logo instead, don't be surprised. Xiaomi devices have their own app store, and it has a completely different name. In this article, we'll look at how it's officially called, how it's different from Google Play, and whether you can use both at the same time.

Many users mistakenly believe that Xiaomi just renamed Play Market, but it is not. Mi App Store (so sounds the full name) is a separate platform with unique content optimized for the MIUI ecosystem. While some models Google Play may be missing out of the box — especially in the Chinese versions of firmware. Next you will learn what the Play Store is called in Xiaomi, actually how to find it, and what to do if the desired application is not there.

The official name of the Xiaomi app store

Xiaomi smartphones use the Mi App Store (formerly Mi Market) as their main app store, and in Russian localization, it is simply called the App Store or GetApps (in newer versions of MIUI), not an analogue of Google Play, but a separate platform with its own moderation rules and a set of programs.

Here are the key names you may come across:

• 📱 Mi App Store – International name (used in global firmware).
• 🌍 GetApps – New Name for Global Version (from 2021).
• 🇨🇳 (Xiaomi Yingyong Shangdian – a name in Chinese firmware.
• 🇷🇺 "App Store" - localized name in Russian MIUI.

It's important to understand that this is not a rebranded Google Play, but a completely different ecosystem.

• 🔹 Applications optimized specifically for MIUI (For example, themes, wallpaper, branded utilities Xiaomi).
• 🔹 Local services for China/India (if you have firmware for these regions).
• 🔹 Programs that are not available on Google Play due to Google policies (such as some Chinese social media sites).
• 🔹 Beta versions of Xiaomi apps (before they are released in global stores).

How is the Mi App Store different from Google Play Market?

The main difference is the target audience. The Mi App Store was created for Xiaomi users in Asia, where Google Play is either blocked (as in China) or less popular.

Another important difference is security, where you can find apps that Google blocks because of policy violations (such as gaming emulators or modified versions of social networks), but this increases the risk of malware. In the Chinese version of the store, until 2023, there were apps with a pre-installed advertising SDK that are difficult to remove.

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If you see an app in the Mi App Store with a suspiciously high rating (4.9+) and low reviews, check it out on VirusTotal before installing it.

How to find and open the Mi App Store on Xiaomi

On most Xiaomi smartphones, the app store is set by default. Here's how to find it:

1. Open the app menu (swipe up from the bottom of the screen).
2. Find the icon with a white square of 9 dots on a blue/green background.
3. The name under the icon may be: 📌 "GetApps (New Global Firmware), 📌 "App Store" (older versions) MIUI), 📌 "App Store" (Russian localization).

If the icon is not on the main screen:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search bar, type "GetApps" or "App Store".
3. Click on the app found and select "Add to the home screen".

For Chinese firmware, you will need:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi website (the process takes up to 72 hours).
2. Install custom recovery (e.g., TWRP).
3. Switch to Google Apps (GApps) through recovery.

Alternative method (without unlocking the bootloader):

1. Download. APK-Google Play Services and Google Play Store from a trusted source (e.g. APKMirror).
2. Install them manually by allowing installation from unknown sources (Settings → Applications → Special Rights → Installation of Unknown Applications).
3. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Note: Installing Google Play on Chinese firmware may result in loss of warranty and system instability.Some features (such as contactless payments via Google Pay) may not work.

What apps are in the Mi App Store but not in Google Play

The Mi App Store offers exclusive content that you won’t find on Google Play, and here are some of the most interesting examples:

• 🎮 Game Turbo Optimization Games: Black Shark Launcher (for gaming smartphones) POCO F/Black Shark) or Mi Game Center with exclusive bonuses.

Also in the Mi App Store, beta versions of Xiaomi branded apps often appear a few weeks before the release on Google Play, for example, new features Mi Fit or Mi Browser are first tested here.

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If you use Xiaomi smart devices (lamps, robot vacuum cleaners, cameras), the Mi App Store often has more recent versions of apps to manage them than Google Play.

How to update apps in the Mi App Store

Updates in the Mi App Store are installed automatically, but you can check them manually:

1. Open the Mi App Store (9-point icon).
2. Go to the "Updates" tab (the arrow icon down).
3. Click on “Update All” or select individual apps.

If no updates appear:

• 🔄 Check your internet connection (better to use Wi-Fi).
• 🔧 Clear the store's cache: Settings → Annexes → GetApps → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 📥 Update the Mi App Store itself through Settings → The phone. → Update MIUI.

⚠️ Note: In the Chinese version of the Mi App Store, some updates may require a Chinese Xiaomi account (Mi Account with a number binding) +Without it, some applications will not be updated.

If you need to turn off automatic updates:

1. Open the Mi App Store.
2. Go to Profile → Settings (cog icon).
3. Turn off the option "Auto Update over Wi-Fi".

Mi App Store Problems and How to Solve Them

Users often encounter errors in the store, and here are the most common ways to correct them:

If the store is not available after resetting:

1. Check the firmware region in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version.
2. If the region is China, install global firmware through the Mi Flash Tool.
3. For European models, download APK GetApps from the official Xiaomi website and install manually.

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If the Mi App Store is constantly making some makeup, try turning off battery optimization for it: Settings → Apps → GetApps → Battery → No Limits

FAQ: Frequent questions about Mi App Store