How a decade of smartphone apps changed the way people live, work and play in China

Smartphone apps also enabled another life-changing trend – one that would consume many hours of each day for many Chinese: watching short videos. — SCMP

When finance industry employee Ringo Li relocated back to Beijing from Tokyo in 2010, he brought along his first smartphone – an iPhone 3G. Although one of the most advanced handsets available at the time, it was mainly used for text messages and phone calls, and occasional Internet-surfing where WiFi was available.

Life was mostly offline back then. Li would go to restaurants to order food, pay bills with cash and hailed a taxi with an outstretched arm standing on the roadside.