BEIJING: China's largest mobile social media network WeChat is offering its 768 million users a function which allows them to by-pass app stores such as Apple's. The launch of "Xiaochengxu", which translates as "mini programs", challenges Apple founder Steve Jobs' idea of an app store overseen by the maker of the iPhone, the device which marked its 10th anniversary on Jan 9. In 2015, Reuters reported that Google, whose services are banned in China, has been looking to relaunch its Google Play app store in the country. "I had hoped that it would allow me to delete some apps and free up some space in my antique 16GB phone...But it turns out that the WeChat app itself uses up the most memory!" Since it launched in 2011, WeChat has become China's most popular mobile social media platform.

Source: The Star January 11, 2017 03:36 UTC