On 2 September, American tech giant Apple made it to the top of the Hot Search list on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform. The topic was “Apple officially responds to iPhone 16 not supporting WeChat” (#苹果官方回应iPhone16不支持微信#) and it has 290 million views at the time of writing.
It is about Apple addressing the growing rumour that due to disagreements regarding in-app transactions and “Apple tax”, this has led Apple to reportedly threaten to stop updating WeChat via its App Store. “Apple tax” refers to Apple charging 30% on all transactions, either paid apps or in-app purchases. The saga started when Apple urged Tencent and ByteDance (parent group of Douyin and TikTok) to stop mini-games on their apps leading users to other platforms for payment, bypassing “Apple tax”.
The most recent rumour claims WeChat would not be supported on iPhone 16 and if you upgrade your iPhone to iOS 18.2, the system would not support the Tencent messaging app. The rumours sparked many a Hot Search topic on Weibo. These include “If Apple really removes WeChat” (#如果苹果真的下架了微信的话#) which is ranking number 1 with 150 million views. Some netizens expressed their dislike for the American tech company while others say that because WeChat is such a necessity for everyday usage, they will have to swap phones if it really happens. Some are sceptical about the rumours, considering that both Apple and Tencent cannot afford to lose each other.
Both Apple and Tencent denied the rumour on 2 September. Apple responded that future support for the app depends on the negotiation outcome between Apple and Tencent. Tencent, on the other hand, denied it has commercialised mini-games by allowing in-app transactions, and the idea is still under internal discussion. It is worth watching if Apple will make a allowances for Tencent regarding Apple tax.
