IS THERE A NEW PLAYER CHALLENGING WECHAT’S MINI PROGRAMS?

Is There a New Player Challenging WeChat’s Mini Programs?

Undoubtedly, WeChat became one of the biggest players in the app market garnering about 1 billion users. With the launch of last year’s Mini Programs, WeChat again stayed on top of its game.

But is this going to end sometime soon?

It was recently announced that a collaboration of China’s smartphone manufacturers and some Chinese government bodies are working together to build a similar technology to Mini Programs. While no concrete news has been shown yet, this may be a sign that WeChat is about to experience some tough competition from the new player.

WeChat Mini Programs

For those who don’t know, WeChat Mini Programs are applications (also known as sub-applications) that you can download inside the WeChat system. Mini Programs can be downloaded in the same way that you download regular apps from your Google Play or Apple Store.

The difference between Mini Programs and regular apps is that Mini Programs don’t use up as much data. They are fewer data intensive and still have the same nature as apps. Because of this big difference, many WeChat users switched from the regular app stores to WeChat’s Mini Programs.

The New Player in the Market

Some of the collaborators involved in this new project are Xiaomi Technology Co., Huawei Technologies, Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo, and other Chinese phone manufacturers. The Chinese government body the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is also involved in this project.

From what we know so far, this new technology is known as “Fast Apps,” and it works in a similar fashion to Mini Programs. They are very lightweight apps that are HTML based and do not need any downloading or installation. Once you click on one of these Fast Apps, it’ll launch right away.

A platform similar to that of a Play Store will be created to store all the Fast Apps. The group plans to make this new platform more efficient and faster for its consumers. This is with the goal of enhancing user experience in mind.

In an interview with Reuters, collaborator Xiaomi mentioned that there are already over a hundred Fast Apps ready for use once the platform is launched. There are also Fast App versions of some of China’s existing apps such as travel app Ctrip. Beside each Fast App is an “instant launch” button next to it. This will allow users to launch the app right away without the need for installation, as we’ve already mentioned beforehand.

How Fast Apps Will Work?

Each of the smartphone manufacturers in the alliance will have their own app store where the consumers can download the Fast Apps. For example, Xiaomi will have its own marketplace known as the Mi App Store while the others will also have theirs. This is quite different from the setup of Google Play Store and the Apple App Store— both of which we are more used to. It works pretty much like the Mini Programs of WeChat where you can get access to instant apps.

What Are Some of the Benefits of Fast Apps?

We’ve already mentioned convenience to be one of the main benefits. What are the other benefits that Fast Apps offer? One other main benefit is that consumers won’t have to worry about compatibility issues with their devices. They can just launch the app from their phone’s respective play store and use it. This is also an advantage for developers because developers won’t have to worry about building different versions just to make certain apps work.

What’s Next for WeChat?

Even with a new threat to their already established brand, WeChat won’t be going down without a fight. First, WeChat is able to make the Mini Programs accessible to even Apple device users, which is an issue that may become problematic for Fast Apps in the future.

Other than that, WeChat has also launched a Mini Program known as CityExperience that targets travelers on business trips. This move can potentially battle the Ctrip Fast App.

Conclusion

While Fast Apps offer very attractive features to smartphone users, WeChat still remains at its spot with its Mini Programs and shows no signs of moving. The battle will be about which app store gives the best user experience to the consumers. We will just have to wait and see how Fast Apps can fare in the market against Mini Programs.