Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Is an iPhone in China any good if Trump bans WeChat?

Is an iPhone in China any good if Trump bans WeChat?

iPhone shipments could drop as much as 30 per cent if Trump’s ban forces WeChat off the iOS App Store, analyst says.
Many Chinese Apple fans would hate giving up their beloved iPhones. But the reality is that users in China may not need their iPhones as much as they need WeChat, and a new executive order by US President Donald Trump could force them to choose between the two.

Last week’s order from the White House seeks to ban people and property under US jurisdiction from being involved with “any transaction that is related to WeChat.” The administration says further clarification on what transactions are banned will come later. But for now, the vaguely worded order has left many people confused. Some say this an intentional effort to dissuade US companies from operating in China.

Some analysts say it’s possible that Apple might have to stop offering Tencent’s popular messaging app on its iOS App Store worldwide. If that happens, the impact on Apple could be huge. By one estimate, global iPhone shipments could fall by as much as 25 to 30 per cent this year, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for his Apple research.

Apple did not respond to questions about WeChat’s possible removal from the App Store.

Baffled WeChat users in China have been pondering what this means for them. When it comes down to it, though, it seems few will struggle to choose between iPhones and WeChat. In a Weibo poll asking people whether they would switch to a new smartphone or uninstall WeChat if the app disappears from iOS, more than 1.2 million out of 1.3 million people who voted indicated that they would get a new phone.

While a social media poll doesn’t represent all of China, the sentiment is real. It’s hard to overstate how essential WeChat is for Chinese smartphone users.

More than just a messaging app, WeChat is also one of China’s two largest mobile payment apps, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the US$8.4 trillion in mobile payment transactions just in the last quarter of 2019.

WeChat is also where people get much of their news and follow their favourite bloggers on public accounts. And thanks the myriad mini programs offered in the app, users can also hail taxis, order food, shop, pay bills and do so much more all without ever leaving WeChat. Some liken the app to an operating system. This is on top of the network effect that locks people into the app that their friends and family use.

With this being the reality for most people in China, it’s easy to see how switching from iOS to Android might be less painful than for users elsewhere.

“Naturally, WeChat works the same on iOS as it does on Android,” tech analyst Ben Thompson wrote in 2017. “That, by extension, means that for the day-to-day lives of Chinese there is no penalty to switching away from an iPhone.”

WeChat is also important for the Chinese diaspora. Since it’s one of the few well-known messaging apps that isn’t blocked in China, it’s generally the only tool for overseas Chinese to stay connected to their family and friends inside the Great Firewall. Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Line are all blocked. (But surprisingly, the security-focused app Signal currently remains accessible in China.)

Kuo suggests there is some room for optimism: Perhaps Apple will only be forced to remove WeChat from the App Store in the US. In this case, Apple might only see iPhone shipments fall 3 to 6 per cent, Kuo argues.

Apple is increasingly reliant on the China market, which Canalys estimates was the iPhone’s second biggest market last year behind the US. Apple’s latest earnings report shows that mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan account for more than 15 per cent of Apple’s revenue.

And iPhone sales are still growing in mainland China thanks to aggressive price cuts, as well as the popularity of the iPhone 11 and the budget-friendly iPhone SE. This is in spite of the fact that iPhones still only account for 9 per cent of all smartphone shipments to China, according to Counterpoint.

Kuo also warns that other Apple products could be affected by a WeChat ban. If Apple removes the app globally, shipments of other popular products like AirPods, iPads, MacBooks and the Apple Watch could shrink by 15 to 25 per cent, he says. If the app is only removed from the US App Store, shipments of these products might fall less than 3 per cent.

While Kuo notes that the US government theoretically wouldn’t want do anything that hurts Apple, it’s possible US President Donald Trump has his focus elsewhere: the 2020 presidential election. This might result in more “radical” moves from the Trump administration to appeal to voters, Kuo says.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×