iPhone loyalists across China are now reconsidering their attachment to the device after Donald Trump issued an executive order last week barring US companies from doing business with, the super-app that has become integral to everyday life in the country.
Tencent Holdings Ltd’s flagship app connects a billion users globally and is used for everything from chatting with friends to shopping for movie and train tickets to paying restaurant and utility bills.
A survey on the Twitter-like Weibo service asking consumers to choose between WeChat and their iPhones has drawn more than 1.2 million responses so far, with roughly 95% of participants saying they would rather give up their devices. “The ban will force a lot of Chinese users to switch from Apple to other brands because WeChat is really important for us,” said Sky Ding, who works in fintech in Hong Kong and originally hails from Xi’an.
Apple had been counting on the next generation of its flagship handset – expected to be launched in October and the first in the series to feature 5G – to woo potential customers like Vincent Han, a Shanghai-based commodities trader who had been planning to replace his Huawei handset with an iPhone. He’s since nixed those plans and is considering alternatives including Samsung Electronics Co.