What happened
The consumer electronics giant until June 30 allowed games to be downloaded in the country, while developers waited to receive their license, the Financial Times noted.
Apple issued a warning to this effect in February, and as of July 1, any application that is not licensed cannot be updated, according to the Financial Times.
According to Telegraph UK, up to 21,000 applications could be affected.
Because it is important
The move comes as Beijing seeks to affect enforcement of regulations against US tech companies in the wake of mounting tensions with the United States government.
“No one is entirely clear how Apple managed to avoid enforcing the 2016 licensing rule for so long,” Todd Kuhns, marketing manager for the consulting group AppInChina, told the Financial Times.
“But considering that the trade war between the United States and China started to heat up earlier this year, the timing is suspicious.”
China is the largest App Store market for Apple with annual revenue of $ 16.4 billion last year, ahead of $ 15.4 billion, according to data from data research firm Sensor Tower.
The move could end up costing Apple $ 879 million in lost annual revenue, according to AppInChina estimates, the Financial Times reported.
Price action
Apple shares closed 0.19% lower at $ 364.11 per share on Wednesday and did not change in the session after hours.
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