华为可能豁免微信在HarmonyOS系统中的应用内购买费用

TMTPost -- Tencent Holdings Ltd. is seeking exemption from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.’s upcoming in-app fee for its popular social media app WeChat, according to a recent report.

Credit：Huawei

Huawei and Tencent have been negotiated for months and are close to seal a deal to exclude WeChat from revenue sharing on the HarmonyOS mobile platform, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Under the reported deal, Huawei will not charge Tencent any fee for in-app transactions within the WeChat universe. In return, Tencent will maintain and update the WeChat app, thus ensuring the company will get ready when Huawei makes its transition of new HarmonyOS version, according to the report.

The report noted reaching such a deal is crucial for Huawei. Tencent now doesn’t have to provide regular updates to the app on Huawei handsets for it hasn’t reached any formal arrangement with the Shenzhen-based company.

Huawei was also reported to reach out to TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin to seek talks about revenue sharing, but the social media company has not expressed interests in initiating negotiation.

Neither Huawei, Tencent nor Douyin’s owner ByteDance Ltd. responded to the report. it could be a latest sign that Huawei is working to expand HarmonyOS as its operating systemis steadily gain traction among consumers, especially in China, the world’s largest smartphone market.

Earlier this week, Huawei was reported to be considering a commission lower than the typical 30% cut that Apple Inc. and Google take for payments made via their mobile stores for shopping things like apps, games, movies and music subscriptions. Another Bloomberg report cited ources that while Huawei has not made final decision yet, one of its possible plans is a fee of about 20% for game developers, which make up the mainstream of mobile app store revenue.

A Huawei representative later that day denied the report. The person said it is untrue that Huawei is discussing with game developers about a fee of some 20%, without offering details.

The report about HarmonyOS highlighted increasing presence of Huawei’s in-house system. With a market share of 17% for the first quarter of the year, Harmony OS overtook iOS in China for the first time as the country’s customers lined up to buy Huawei's flagship offerings, according to a quarterly note from Counterpoint Research. Data from the global market research firm showed share of Harmony OS rose to 17%, more than doubling a year ago, while iOS’s share declined 4 points year-over-year (YoY) to 16%.

Counterpoint Research note said Harmony OS continued to grow in Q1 2024, reaching a 4% share globally. Apple’s iOS share declined by 1% YoY owing to seasonality and lower sales in China, its second-largest market. The global share declined from 20% in Q1 2023 to 16% in Q1 2024. This also marked the first Q1 decline for iOS in China since Q1 2019, primarily driven by Huawei's 5G smartphone launches competing directly with Apple.

HarmonyOS’ emergence is driven by booming smartphone sales, eclipsing Apple and other established brands. Counterpoint Research estimated in April that Huawei stood out as the best performer among all original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) , with a 69.7% YoY rise in sales in China for the first quarter. Huawei’s growth was largely attributed to the successful launch of the 5G-capable Mate 60 series as well as its enduring brand reputation, helping it to gain a massive share in the 0+ premium segment, Counterpoint Research noted.

A Canalys note in April said Huawei soars to regain lead in Chinese smartphone market in the first quarter. Huawei returned to the top spot after 13 quarters, shipping 11.7 million smartphones and capturing a 17% market share, thanks to an enthusiastic market response to its Mate and nova series Canalyst said. Oppo, next to Huawei, shipped 10.9 million units, driven by its Reno 11 series’ strong performance.