WeChat "hard steel" Apple, why are the technology giants fighting?

The reason why the Apple tax exists is, of course, because of Apple's excellent ecosystem. This ecosystem is closed, safe, the experience is smooth enough, and the loyalty of Apple users is high. These are one of Apple's core competitive advantages. For many App developers, listing Apple's App Store can easily reach many Apple users, which is also a more efficient and labor-saving way.

According to Sensor Tower data, the global revenue of "Apple Tax" will reach approximately 160.8 billion yuan in 2023, bringing a steady stream of cash flow to Apple, of which the contribution of the Chinese market exceeds 40 billion yuan, and its importance is self-evident.

However, this has also been criticized by many developers, who believe that the tax is too high and that "the world has suffered from apple tax for a long time". Previously, some media reported that small program developers generally believe that the 30% Apple tax is squeezing their living space. Most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises, with about 10 employees and a profit margin of less than 12%.

People familiar with the matter have revealed that WeChat has no commission on the IOS side at present. Behind this round of WeChat Apple disputes, WeChat is mainly to protect the rights and interests of small and medium-sized (game) developers in the ecology.

It is worth noting that in recent years, WeChat mini-games have developed rapidly. Data show that in the first half of this year, the actual sales revenue of the domestic game market was 147.267 billion yuan, a slight increase of 2.08% year-on-year, of which the total revenue of small program mobile games was 16.603 billion yuan, accounting for 11.27%, and a substantial increase of 60.5% year-on-year.

The prospect of the small program mobile game market is attractive, and WeChat is the undoubtedly platform overlord in this field. If these game developers bypass the "Apple tax", it will obviously move Apple's "cheese".

The differences of interests between the two technology giants are gradually escalating, and the onlookers are naturally enjoying it. There are rumors that users will be forced to "choose 1 of 2", just as e-commerce companies were forced to take sides with Taobao or JD.com, and the business game between QQ and 360, etc.

Tencent and Apple are obviously giants in the field of technology, and both sides have deep moats.

According to Tencent's 2023 financial report, the combined number of monthly active accounts of WeChat and WeChat reached 1.343 billion. Tencent has penetrated into almost all aspects of Chinese people's lives, which is also its "confidence" in daring to harden steel apples.

In China, more than 250 million users are using iPhone. The stickiness of Apple products has always been relatively high. The data and usage habits accumulated over the years have made it difficult for many Apple users to migrate to the Android platform. As the "largest holding" of investment gurus such as Buffett and Duan Yongping, Apple's moat Needless to say more.

The differences between the two companies involve multiple interests and have far-reaching implications for users, developers, Apple and the entire mobile ecosystem.

In fact, relevant people have made some responses to this incident-

Previously, Tencent's management had stated that at present, Tencent has not commercialized small games on iOS through in-app purchase (bypassing payment). At the second quarter financial report meeting, Tencent publicly admitted that it was negotiating with Apple on the revenue sharing of WeChat mini-games.

Recently, an Apple China technical consultant said that Apple and Tencent need to communicate and discuss with each other whether iOS system or Apple devices can reuse WeChat and other related issues.

He said that Apple is currently actively communicating with Tencent to confirm whether Tencent will continue to provide software download commissions to the Apple App Store. Both companies will make certain measures for their own corresponding benefits, so don't worry for the time being.

Industry insiders pointed out that the final result of this incident is likely to be that Tencent and Apple each take a step back, Apple reduces the percentage, and Tencent accepts a certain percentage.

Some analysts believe that the dispute between Apple and WeChat mainly focuses on differences in in-app payment policies. Although there is a certain game of interests, both sides have enough motivation and reasons to continue to cooperate. Therefore, it is unlikely that Apple and WeChat will choose one from the other.

Perhaps, compromise is the eternal rule of the game in the business world. The two companies are huge in size and have many areas of cooperation. A black-and-white, "forced to take sides" cool story may not happen in the real business world.

In the long run, the contradiction between the two giants has surfaced this time, which has also prompted the entire industry to think about how to balance the relationship between innovation and supervision, openness and closure in the rapidly iterating field of science and technology, so as to build a healthier ecological environment. Bring practical convenience to users.

It is worth mentioning that it is not the first time that Apple has faced a similar game when it comes to Apple tax.

For example, music streaming service Spotify and gaming company Epic Games have both had legal disputes with Apple. In March this year, the European Union issued a huge fine of 1.84 billion euros to Apple, forcing the latter to adjust its "Apple tax" in some areas.

Later, Apple made a series of adjustments in the European Union, reducing the Apple tax from 30% and 15% (small and medium-sized developers with an annual income of US $1 million) originally drawn from developers to 17% and 10% respectively.