Will the ‘Super App’ work outside of Asia?

KEY POINTS

• Musk’s goal is to transform X into a “super app” which was pioneered in China and has taken off in other parts of Asia.

• Tencent’s WeChat, which is the biggest super app in the world with 1.3 billion users, is likely Musk’s inspiration as the billionaire in the past has called the Chinese app “great.”

• Will the ‘Super app’ work outside of Asia?

Musk called WeChat ‘great’

Super apps refer to a type of app that allow users to carry out multiple functions without having to leave the app. For example, an app might include social media functions, payments, hotel and flight bookings and taxi hailing.

The biggest super app in the world is called WeChat which is run by Chinese technology giant Tencent and has over 1.3 billion users.

WeChat is primarily an instant messaging app like WhatsApp. But it is also has payments and users can access other apps within it such as e-commerce and banking.

While China pioneered the super app, the idea has taken off in other parts of Asia. Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing firm Grab has expanded into other areas like food delivery and payments. South Korea’s Kakao is another example.

Musk has likely taken inspiration from WeChat, an app he called “great” last year. Musk said there is no WeChat equivalent outside of China.

“I think that there’s a real opportunity to create that,” Musk told employees. “You basically live on WeChat in China because it’s so useful and so helpful to your daily life. And I think if we could achieve that, or even close to that with Twitter, it would be an immense success.”

Will the ‘Super App’ work outside of Asia?

WeChat took off in China because of the unique internet landscape there, one where many American online services such as Twitter and Google are blocked. This has given a chance for homegrown technology firms to establish dominance in the internet space.

Tencent is one of these. With WeChat it operates the biggest messaging service in the country. WeChat Pay is one of the two biggest mobile payments services in China, the other being Alipay which is run by Ant Group, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Alipay itself is also another super app.

Tencent has managed to create an app this size because it runs its own payments and social media service. But the company has also invested in other major companies like e-commerce firm JD.com and and food delivery company Meituan. This has allowed Tencent to integrate their services into WeChat. Tencent is also one of the world’s biggest online gaming companies and that has given it further content to put within WeChat.

Developers can also create so-called “mini apps” within WeChat. These are stripped down versions of full apps but it means a user doesn’t have to download dozens of other apps and can just use WeChat for nearly everything.

Why are super apps so fond of mini apps?

Independent module development is more efficient and flexible.

Mini apps is a new mobile application development paradigm. It creates openness in your mobile app and allows 3rd-party developers to build new services and features on top of your app. These services and features can be dynamically delivered to the users without the need for republishing your mobile app.

Provide open capabilities for Apps

Provide open capabilities for Apps. The Apps can open its own capabilities to the 3rd-party developers. The Mini apps developed by the 3rd-party developers can be put into the Apps to expand the Apps business scenarios. At the same time, the Mini spps can be easily obtained and disseminated.

How then can mini apps be integrated into super apps?

Apart from internet giants, can proprietary business apps also have the capability to launch mini apps? The answer is certainly yes.

Although internet majors have not opened up this part of the mini app running capability, we don't have to look on with envy. Similar technological capabilities have long been introduced in the market, commonly referred to as mini app container technology.

Today, I want to share about FinClip. By simply integrating the FinClip SDK, you can run your mini apps on applications across platforms like iPhone, Android, Windows, Linux, and macOS.

This means that mini programs can now run on mobile devices, PCs, in-car systems, smart TVs, smart watches, and smart home devices.

Moreover, the FinClip SDK is extremely lightweight. The size of the application package only increases by less than 3MB after integration.

Finally, I strongly suggest that mobile developers, including backend, frontend, and research and development personnel, give it a try. You might gain some new insights.