wechat apple version has been updated, and the "apple tax" game test is still going on
2024-09-07
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on the afternoon of september 6, apple completed the update of the latest version of wechat before the launch of iphone 16, which also put an end to the previous speculation that "iphone 16 is not compatible with wechat, and apple and wechat must be chosen between the two."
previously, apple had put pressure on companies including tencent and bytedance to deal with external payment loopholes in their respective apps to avoid directing users to external payment systems. apple had warned tencent that if it did not remove the ability of developers and users to bypass the apple ecosystem, it would refuse to provide wechat updates in the future.
an insider told the first financial reporter that "the two companies are currently in rational negotiations on the issue of revenue sharing for mini programs, and the core of the negotiations is still the issue of how to collect apple tax."
in some overseas regions, the "apple tax" has recently shown a trend of loosening and decline. for example, in january this year, apple said that the new business terms to be provided in the european union will include reducing related fees, and the handling fee paid by ios applications distributed through the app store for digital goods and services transactions will be reduced to 10% (applicable to most developers and subscriptions after the first year) or 17%.
return to the negotiating table
the rumors of "choose one between wechat and iphone" gradually subsided with the update of the new version of the mobile application, and tencent and apple returned to the "negotiating table".
the reporter noticed that in the latest version of the apple phone, new features were added to wechat moments and live broadcasts. this version update at least shows that apple's current system still allows wechat to be updated.
judging from the time period, this ios wechat update is more than two months away. the reporter saw on the iphone that the previous ios version of wechat was also updated once every one or two months.
the disagreement between the two sides stems from different opinions on apple tax, and negotiations have been going on for some time.
in august this year, tencent management responded to the issue of "small games bypassing apple's in-app purchases", saying that "there are some misunderstandings about the nature of the current situation, that is, we do not commercialize small games on ios through in-app purchases (bypassing payments)". the company's management said that if commercialization can be achieved, it will not only be in the interests of tencent and apple, but also in the interests of game developers and users, but it hopes to achieve this goal under economically sustainable and fair conditions, and discussions are ongoing.
regarding the revenue model of mini-games, a person in the game industry told reporters that the revenue of mini-games includes advertising and recharges, both of which are revenues, and the publisher and developer will share this part of the revenue in a certain proportion. the "china game industry report from january to june 2024" released by the game working committee shows that the domestic mini-program mobile game revenue in the first half of the year was 16.603 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 60.5%. among them, the actual sales revenue generated by in-app purchases was 9.098 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 81.56%, and the advertising monetization revenue was 7.505 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.75%. the revenue of the mini-game market has maintained rapid growth for three consecutive years, and the proportion of in-app purchase revenue has also increased year by year.
in the past, apple has been collecting "apple tax" in its apps and app stores, which includes the revenue from game users' recharges in the app store. under normal circumstances, the ratio is 30%, and when the app revenue is less than 1 million us dollars, the ratio is reduced to 15%. however, apple still hopes to gain more revenue through wechat mini programs.
what impact will the direction of the negotiations have?
the "apple tax" refers to the channel share. when users use the apple mobile phone app store to purchase digital content such as apps, apple will withhold part of the transaction amount as commission, and then transfer the remaining funds to the corresponding app developers, with the commission ratio ranging from 15% to 30%. due to the existence of the "apple tax", the profit space of app developers has been compressed.
an insider told the reporter that the survival of small and medium-sized developers is the core of this negotiation and the focus of tencent's negotiations. among the 300,000+ developers of wechat mini-games, more than 80% are small teams with less than 30 people, and the overall profit margin of mini-games is only 12%. the 30% apple tax is likely to put survival pressure on developers. tencent hopes that the negotiations will be a win-win for all three parties and form a positive cycle of the business ecosystem while protecting the survival of developers.
according to statistics from third-party data statistics agency sensor tower, in 2023, the "apple tax" will generate approximately us$22.34 billion (rmb 160.8 billion) in revenue worldwide. at the same time, the "apple tax" has become an important contributor to apple's total revenue.
on august 2, apple released its third-quarter financial report for fiscal year 2024, with total revenue of $85.777 billion and net profit of $21.448 billion. compared with the decline in hardware revenue, software service revenue has become an important incremental sector for apple. in the latest fiscal quarter, apple's software service revenue maintained a year-on-year growth of 14%, reaching $24.213 billion in a single quarter, setting a new record again. the revenue share hit a new high of 28.23%, and has become apple's largest source of revenue besides iphone sales.
research firm counterpoint research predicts that service products will become apple's fastest growing segment, accounting for about a quarter of the company's total revenue, or about $100 billion, by 2025. china is apple's third largest market in the world.
a chinese developer told reporters, "based on the current 30% commission, after apple takes the 100 yuan gift income in china's live streaming industry, there is only 70 yuan left, 35 to 50 yuan is given to the anchor, and the remaining money is used to pay for streaming costs, manpower and other expenses. a complete team of five people costs 200,000 to 300,000 yuan a month, and there is not much profit left." the above developer believes that the "apple tax" rate is not friendly to chinese application developers.
another company developer said that for china's more high-frequency apps, it is still impossible to introduce third-party application stores and payment processing systems. however, in the united states, the european union and other regions, the relevant rules have been revised, which is unfair to developers and consumers.
it is worth noting that since 2022, europe, the united states, japan and south korea have all been reducing channel taxes. the eu apple tax has been reduced to 17%, and south korea's google tax is only 26%. on june 12 this year, japan passed the "law on promoting competition in specific smartphone software", which explicitly reduced taxes on japanese apps. china's digital industry is facing challenges around the world.
li sanxi, director of the digital economy research center of renmin university of china, said that in response to regulatory pressure, apple has adjusted its strategy in the united states, the european union, japan and south korea, not only reducing apple's tax rate, but also taking a more open attitude, such as opening up third-party payments. however, in china, an important market for apple's revenue, apple still maintains the world's highest "apple tax" rate and the most stringent closed strategy. this has, to a certain extent, damaged the interests of chinese consumers and the living space of the majority of developers.
wang peng, a researcher at the beijing academy of social sciences, believes that it makes sense for apple to charge channel fees because the development of the ios ecosystem is a cost for apple, but the important thing is that "the charges must be transparent, respect the market, and require sufficient communication with developers and consumers."
(this article comes from china business network)
