While Huawei was the main target in the US and China trade war, it seems that the US government is setting their sights on other China-owned businesses, such as WeChat. It was suggested that WeChat could potentially be banned from use in the US, and the implications are huge for Apple.
A survey suggested that many iPhone customers in China would be willing to give up their iPhone if WeChat were banned, and that it could result in as much as 30% drop in iPhone sales. Now according to a report from Seeking Alpha, we’re starting to get an idea of how much that could cost the Cupertino company, and it is in the billions.
The report is basing this on estimates where they suggest that 75% of iPhone and iPad sales could dry up as a result of WeChat getting banned, which is roughly about $21 billion in lost revenue. They estimate that also because these users no longer have iPhones or iPads, they may no longer need to subscribe to Apple’s various services, which could add an additional $4-5 billion in revenue decline.
WeChat might seem like just another messaging app, but over in China and other parts of Asia, it is more than just that. Users use it to purchase tickets for trains, make payments at retail stores and restaurants, send each other money, play games, and more, so losing access to those features would no doubt be a pretty big deal.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, China, iPhone, Legal, Social Hit and Wechat. Source: seekingalpha