China

Apple has frequently used small variations on the same one-sentence justification when giving in to government demands that conflict with the company’s stated values: “Apple complies with the law in each of the countries in which it operates.”

However, there are occasions on which the company has instead chosen to stand up to unreasonable government demands, and we yesterday saw the latest (and highly successful) example …

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A new market intelligence report suggests that the iPhone 17 lineup is selling incredibly well in China, despite this being a somewhat tricky market for Apple.

It reveals that one in every four smartphones sold in China during October was an iPhone, and that total sales beat the previous record set back in 2021 …

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Update 9:34am PT: There is no direct deal between Apple and Tencent for the 15% commission rate on WeChat mini games and apps. Instead, Tencent is taking advantage of Apple’s new App Store Mini Apps Partner Program, which launched for all developers today. Tencent, like all developers, will first have to apply to the program.

Members of the program earn 85% of qualifying In‑App Purchase sales within qualifying mini apps.

The original story via Bloomberg is below.

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Apple’s App Store commission might be under threat in multiple countries around the world, but the company has just gained a huge new source of commission thanks to a WeChat deal struck in China.

The situation arises because the way most Chinese iPhone users buy apps is very different to anywhere else in the world …

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