Donald Trump could make Apple lose tons of cash, as he recently banned US companies from Transactions with WeChat owner Tencent. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Trump’s actions would force Apple to remove WeChat from the Apple Store after September 20, which would also translate to a decline in iPhone shipments that could go up to 30 percent. However, a new report from Bloomberg suggests that things could get worse for Apple.
According to a massive survey that took place in China, 95 percent of Chinese iPhone users would switch from Apple to any other smartphone brand if they should lose WeChat from their devices. In other words, this survey suggests that more than 1.2 million iPhone users would replace their Apple devices.
“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 WeChat […]
“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 […]
“The ban threatens to turn iPhones into expensive ‘electronic trash,’ said Hong Kong resident Kenny Ou, who sees WeChat as one of the most essential software on his handset.
“WeChat isn’t just a messaging service: It’s basically a whole operating system […] The average Chinese person picks up their phone and immediately opens WeChat. Pretty much everything else they do happens within this single app.”
It’s not clear if this ban would only take effect in the United States or applies to business worldwide. If China gets affected, Chinese iPhone users won’t get new iPhone models, and they would eventually switch to Android devices, as WeChat is the most important app in China. It is more than just a chat app, as it is used for payments, e-Commerce, news reading, productivity, and more.
“Apple is one of more than a dozen US companies who this week warned the Trump administration about the implications of banning WeChat from their platforms. The warning was given during a conference call on Tuesday.
“Disney, Ford, Intel, Morgan Stanley, UPS, and Walmart were also among those to inform the White House that the consequences for US companies could be severe.”
Source 9to5Mac
Via Bloomberg
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