 |
| IPhone sales are threatened to decline sharply |
In the worst case scenario, if Apple removed WeChat from global app stores, Apple's global iPhone sales could drop 25% to 30%.
The data comes from a new research report compiled by trusted analyst Ming Ju. The removal may have been due to President Trump's order to block transactions with WeChat and its parent company Tencent in the US.
The Trump administration is trying to prevent Chinese apps that pose a threat to US consumer data from being transferred to the Chinese government.
The analyst pointed to optimistic and pessimistic situations depending on whether Apple just needs to remove WeChat from the US app store or whether the ban applies to app stores in all countries / regions. .
WeChat is very popular among mobile device users in China, as it is basically a platform for a lot of Android and iOS users.
The app is still widely used around the world, with over 1.2 billion monthly active users. It would be devastating to ban WeChat from the Apple App Store worldwide, Guo said.
Since WeChat integrates communication, payment, e-commerce, social software, message reading, and productivity functions that are vital to Chinese users, Guo believes that this move will lead to lower iPhone sales in the Chinese market.
The analyst estimates that global iPhone shipments will decrease by 25% to 30%, while global shipments of other Apple products (including AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac) will decrease by 15% to 25%.
Under optimistic conditions, Kuo predicts that only WeChat will be removed from the Apple App Store in the US, global iPhone shipments will be affected 3% to 6% and the impact of other Apple products will be less than 3%.
Apple hasn't divided iPhone shipments by region, but in the June quarter, the Chinese market accounted for more than 15% of Apple's total sales, making it a significant part of the company's business.
Given the risk of a WeChat ban, Kuo advises investors to reduce their stake in Apple supply chain companies such as LG Innotek.