FILE PHOTO: Icons of messaging applications WhatsApp of Facebook (L), Laiwang of Alibaba Group (C) and WeChat, or Weixin, of Tencent Group, are seen on the screen of a smart phone on this photo illustration taken in Beijing February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Barry Huang/File Photo
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s six-year-old excursion into mobile operating systems is faltering in China, casting doubt over software that bears billionaire-founder Jack Ma’s name and was once touted as key to countering Tencent Holdings Ltd.
China’s largest e-commerce company debuted YunOS in 2011, a system that underpins search, shopping and browsing that its executives last year said could attain as much as 25% domestic market share by the end of 2016 – surpassing Apple Inc’s iOS. Six years on, YunOS’ slice of China software installations stands at just 2.2% while its share of 2016 shipments was 10%, researchers Canalys and Counterpoint estimate, respectively. Alibaba disputes those numbers.
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