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> Wechat is not a super app, it is a browser. ...and a payment service, and a search app, and a messaging app, and a social media service, and a video calling

> Wechat is not a super app, it is a browser. ...and a payment service, and a search app, and a messaging app, and a social media service, and a video calling platform, and a VOIP calling service, and a video sharing platform

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anubiskhan 4y ago
All things I can do in my browser
- chazeon 4y ago
  Except that right now simplified Chinese contents are dying on the open web due to the walled gardens these super apps built. There are also payment and some government services now must be done in these super apps in China.
ElCheapo 4y ago
Now go and see how many APIs Google Chrome has
- lelandfe 4y ago
  All of those things I named are built by WeChat and live in the app, first-party: WeChat Pay, WeChat Moments, WeChat Channels, WeChat Out, etc. "You can technically visit any site you want" is really not an apt rebuttal to an app that contains a multitude of first-party features.
  - ElCheapo 4y ago
    WeChat is controlled by the government. They don't need an open ecosystem: if the government mandates an app then everyone will use that app. It's completely unnecessary to implement some kind of public facing API to offer the functionalities to supposed third parties. There are none.
    - lelandfe 4y ago
      It is an "open ecosystem" if I am understanding your meaning correctly. You can make your own ("mini") programs for WeChat. I presumed that's where the original "it is a browser" comment stemmed from. I was trying to point out that the super-app label stems from the bevy of first-party features WeChat has built in. There aren't real analogs to that in the western world (Facebook would like to be one of them). That the government has their hands on their scale is orthogonal to this discussion.
      - ElCheapo 4y ago
        Google as a whole (especially in America) has a slew of services entirely comparable to WeChat. The problem is not many people use them. They have phone and internet plans, they have mobile and desktop OSs, they have self-driving taxis, they have email, they have IM, they (had) a social network, they have a payment system, they have cloud storage and computing, they even have actual phones and computers. Sure, they miss a couple of things like a marketplace, but if US citizens somehow were forced to use all-Google devices they would definitely do everything with Google Search, Google Duo, GMail and Google Pay just like the Chinese do everything via WeChat. In that case obviously Google would integrate all their services even tighter by allowing almost everything to be done through their IM or email, but right now they are much more similar to WeChat than you might think
        lelandfe 4y ago
        > Google as a whole... has a slew of services entirely comparable to WeChat > they miss a couple of things like a marketplace Really all there is to it. Google offers disparate services instead of bundling and lacks essential parts of WeChat (e.g. commerce, social media). The comparison comes up short.

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anubiskhan 4y ago

All things I can do in my browser

chazeon 4y ago
Except that right now simplified Chinese contents are dying on the open web due to the walled gardens these super apps built. There are also payment and some government services now must be done in these super apps in China.

ElCheapo 4y ago

Now go and see how many APIs Google Chrome has

lelandfe 4y ago
All of those things I named are built by WeChat and live in the app, first-party: WeChat Pay, WeChat Moments, WeChat Channels, WeChat Out, etc. "You can technically visit any site you want" is really not an apt rebuttal to an app that contains a multitude of first-party features.
- ElCheapo 4y ago
  WeChat is controlled by the government. They don't need an open ecosystem: if the government mandates an app then everyone will use that app. It's completely unnecessary to implement some kind of public facing API to offer the functionalities to supposed third parties. There are none.
  - lelandfe 4y ago
    It is an "open ecosystem" if I am understanding your meaning correctly. You can make your own ("mini") programs for WeChat. I presumed that's where the original "it is a browser" comment stemmed from. I was trying to point out that the super-app label stems from the bevy of first-party features WeChat has built in. There aren't real analogs to that in the western world (Facebook would like to be one of them). That the government has their hands on their scale is orthogonal to this discussion.
    - ElCheapo 4y ago
      Google as a whole (especially in America) has a slew of services entirely comparable to WeChat. The problem is not many people use them. They have phone and internet plans, they have mobile and desktop OSs, they have self-driving taxis, they have email, they have IM, they (had) a social network, they have a payment system, they have cloud storage and computing, they even have actual phones and computers. Sure, they miss a couple of things like a marketplace, but if US citizens somehow were forced to use all-Google devices they would definitely do everything with Google Search, Google Duo, GMail and Google Pay just like the Chinese do everything via WeChat. In that case obviously Google would integrate all their services even tighter by allowing almost everything to be done through their IM or email, but right now they are much more similar to WeChat than you might think
      - lelandfe 4y ago
        > Google as a whole... has a slew of services entirely comparable to WeChat > they miss a couple of things like a marketplace Really all there is to it. Google offers disparate services instead of bundling and lacks essential parts of WeChat (e.g. commerce, social media). The comparison comes up short.