Apple’s US$44bil China market threatened by Trump WeChat ban

If Apple was forced to remove the service from its global app stores, iPhone annual shipments will decline 25% to 30% while other hardware, including AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac computers, may fall 15%-25%, analysts estimated. — AFP

Apple Inc spent years building China into a US$44bil (RM184.25bil) growth driver. Then the US president last week cast all that in doubt.

iPhone loyalists across China are now reconsidering their attachment to the device after Donald Trump issued an executive order last week barring US companies from doing business with WeChat, the super-app that has become integral to everyday life in the country. Scheduled to come into effect in roughly five weeks, the ban threatens to turn iPhones into expensive “electronic trash”, said Hong Kong resident Kenny Ou, who sees WeChat as one of the most essential software on his handset.