While an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump will ban TikTok in the US starting in the middle of next month, another executive order from the president bans US companies from doing business with the WeChat app which also begins in mid-September. As we mentioned last week, this executive order may fall back in the face of the administration, as iPhone sales in China could be severely curtailed. And if Apple is forced to remove WeChat from the App Store, Huawei’s phones (and others-more on that later) will benefit from the lack of the iOS app ‘super-app’.
Out of the 100 Chinese iPhone users, 95 brands would switch instead of losing WeChat
You see, WeChat is the one must-have app in China with over one billion people using it as a browser, an email app, an app for online shopping and mobile payments, and more. A comment published by Bloomberg of Hong Kong resident and iPhone user Kenny Ou addresses the situation. As Apple is forced to remove WeChat from the App Store, Ou says its iPhone will be transformed into “expensive electronic trash.” That’s because he, like many iPhone Chinese consumers, sees the app as one of the most important software features on his handset. Ou, an engineering student, stated that he could make a difficult decision. “All my products are from Apple – my Macbook, iPad, iPhone and even AirPods. Apple has made a robust connection of their products and made me strongly dependent on their brand. It would be a huge disaster for my studies and work as such a a ban was imposed. “
Most iPhone owners in China would rather drop the iPhone than get rid of WeChat
Shanghai Commodities trader Vincent Han was planning to replace his Huawei handset with an iPhone. But those plans have changed because of the possible WeChat ban. Han said: “I’m worried that WeChat will be banned on the iPhone. This will affect my work in large part because 90% of my clients and colleagues communicate via WeChat. Still, even Samsung’s Android operating system has been developed by Google and I’m working to exclude the Android platform WeChat as well. “
It is not only sales of the iPhone in China that may be affected by the removal of WeChat from the iPhone. TF International analyst and the man who knows what the cafeteria in Cupertino will serve on this date in 2023, Ming-Chi Kuo recently predicted that worldwide sales of the iPhone will drop 25% to 30% this year if Apple forces WeChat to remove from its iOS app printer. Kuo also sees a worldwide sales decline in the range of 15% to 25% for Apple’s AirPods, iPads, and the Apple Watch if the Trump administration bans WeChat from the App Store.
WeChat parent Tencent believes Trump’s executive order will apply to WeChat in the USonly. As a result, the Chinese version of WeChat, Weixin, will remain available in the App Store. If so, iPhone sales may not be as negatively impacted as originally thought. Still, on China’s Weibo microblogging site, 1.2 million people were surveyed and asked to choose between WeChat and their iPhone. 95% of respondents said they would rather give up their iPhone than quit WeChat.
Apple began shipping the iPhone back in China in 2009 and since then it has shipped 210 million units in the country. As of June, 20% of Chinese smartphone owners used an iPhone compared to the 26% who sported a Huawei handset. China remains the world’s largest smartphone market and as such it is still a key region for Apple. Last fiscal year, Greater China contributed 17% of Apple’s total revenue to more than $ 43.7 billion. At its peak, Greater China made one out of every $ 4 spent on an Apple product or service.
If Apple forces to stop offering WeChat, there are other Asian companies waiting in the wings, including Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.
