Shortly before the introduction of the Vision Pro in China, Apple apparently achieved a coup: The company was able to reach an agreement with the powerful local Internet player Tencent to adapt its most important apps for visionOS. This is reported by The Information, a specialist service published in Silicon Valley. Tencent owns, among other things, the “super app” WeChat, with which most Chinese citizens interact on a daily basis, the short message service Tencent Weibo, the chat app QQ, the financial product WeBank, the film distributor Tencent Pictures and various game studios, including the creators behind “PUBG ” and “Honor of Kings”.
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Just as important as Disney+ in other markets
Analysts consider the deal with Tencent to be at least as important as the cooperation with Disney in the USA. There, DIsney+ was the first major streaming service available on the Vision Pro from day 1 alongside Apple's own TV+ offering (as well as film and series rental services in the TV app). Other video services are currently available either only in the browser (Netflix) or in the form of a non-customized iPad app (Amazon Prime Video) on the mixed reality headset. Meta has not yet ported any of its important apps such as Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp to visionOS or has blocked their iPad versions. Google is also cautious, but now wants to launch YouTube as a Vision Pro app soon.
Without cooperation with Tencent, it would have been more challenging for Apple to market the Vision Pro in China, The Information continues. The step is therefore “crucial” for the success of the device in the People’s Republic. It initially remained unclear whether Apple was also working on deals with other large domestic players such as Baidu (search, AI) or Sina (short message service Sina Weibo).
Further new services for China are planned
Apple also wants to expand its range of services in China in parallel with Vision Pro. So far, the Arcade games service as well as the TV+ video service and the Fitness+ sports service are missing. There are also political reasons for this, as a content service provider needs approval from the government in Beijing.
Apple boss Tim Cook personally announced during a visit to China that the Vision Pro would come onto the market there “this year”. It is only the second confirmed foreign market for the headset, although the first European countries – including Germany and France – are likely to follow in the summer. Apple also has a trademark problem with its glasses in China: The trademark “Vision Pro” currently belongs to the large telecommunications group Huawei. Negotiations are apparently underway here. It is also conceivable that the Vision Pro will have to be renamed in China.
(bsc)