WeChat ban threatens Apple's $44 billion market 3
Traditional iPhone customers across China are reconsidering using this phone after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning US companies from doing business with WeChat, effective from the end of September. WeChat is a super app.
Kenny Ou – a Hong Kong citizen said this ban could turn iPhones into `expensive electronic waste`.
When announcing its second quarter financial report yesterday (August 12), Tencent leaders emphasized that the ban probably only applies to WeChat in the US and does not affect the Chinese version of Weixin.
Customers in an Apple store in Shanghai.
Kuo Ming-chi – analyst at TF International Securities predicts that if Apple is forced to remove this application from the App Store, the number of iPhones sold annually will decrease by 25 – 30%.
China is Apple’s most important international market, with 42 stores currently.
Apple is facing fierce competition from local rivals, such as Huawei Technologies, in this market.
Tencent’s application currently has one billion users globally and is used in all situations, from chatting with friends, buying movie and train tickets to paying restaurant and utility bills.
A survey on China’s Weibo social network about choosing WeChat or iPhone also attracted more than 1.2 million respondents.
`The ban will force many Chinese users to leave Apple for another brand, because WeChat is really important to us,` said Sky Ding – an employee of a fintech firm in Hong Kong. `My family is in China.`
The iPhone became available in China in 2009 – two years after it went on sale in the US.
Apple is counting on the new generation of devices, expected to launch in October and using 5G technology, to attract potential users like Vincent Han.
`I’m worried WeChat will be banned on iPhone. This will affect my work a lot. Because 90% of my customers and colleagues communicate on WeChat,` Han said, `However, the Samsung operating system
If iPhone loses market share, Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei will be ready to step in to fill the void.
As for Ou – an Apple fan, he may have to make a difficult decision between iPhone and WeChat.
