China’s WeChat is already the country’s top messaging app, but it’s aiming to be more.
WeChat developers are creating new “mini-programs” that will look and operate like the apps we currently see on Apple’s iOs and Google’s Android platforms. WeChat’s, however, will be less data-intensive.
Although WeChat has said it’s not a direct challenge to Apple, Google, and other dominant mobile platforms, some analysts and developers say otherwise.
"In the long-term, the relationship between Tencent [WeChat’s owner] and Apple's ecosystems will be co-existence and 'co-opetition,’” said Ivey Associate Professor Ning Su. “Intense competition in some areas and time periods, coupled with some form of cooperation in others.”
