Can you explain how the rise of apps would make things more difficult for those who know little Chinese, as opposed to easier? > online shopping, digital payme

Can you explain how the rise of apps would make things more difficult for those who know little Chinese, as opposed to easier? > online shopping, digital payments, banking, ride-hailing Surely pre-smartphone, all the offline equivalents of these were also Chinese-language only? Especially in that era, effectively no taxi drivers or shop assistants would've known English, and you didn't have a phone to translate for you.