Apple has reportedly reached a major agreement with Tencent that will see the iPhone maker take a 15% commission on mini game and app purchases made in WeChat, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The deal, which has been in the works for more than a year, marks a turning point in Apple’s relationship with Tencent, one of China’s biggest tech companies. Until now, Apple hadn’t received any cut of the significant revenue generated from WeChat’s mini apps — an omission that had become a sticking point between the two companies.
WeChat isn’t just a messaging app — it’s a “super app” used by more than 1.4 billion people every month for everything from banking and online shopping to playing games and paying bills. Its mini apps, which operate entirely within WeChat, contributed roughly 32.3 billion yuan ($6.4 billion CAD) in revenue for Tencent’s social network division during the September quarter alone.
Apple reportedly pushed Tencent to close loopholes that allowed app creators to funnel users to external payment platforms to avoid the iPhone maker’s traditional 30% App Store commission. The new deal cuts that rate in half, setting it at 15%, but allows Apple to finally tap into a fast-growing segment of China’s digital economy.
Developers who want to qualify for the new arrangement will need to comply with Apple’s software policies, including features like age-sharing tools for parents.
This agreement not only opens a new revenue stream for Apple but also signals improving ties with Tencent — a company it may soon collaborate with to bring Apple Intelligence to China. Earlier reports suggested Apple was considering Tencent and ByteDance as potential partners to deploy its AI features in the region.
Apple has been gradually easing its once-rigid 30% App Store fee structure in recent years amid regulatory pressure worldwide. In China, this deal could help Apple strengthen its ecosystem and deepen its foothold in one of its most important markets.
Apple even launched its own mini-app version of the Apple Store on WeChat back in 2023 to reach more online shoppers in the country — and now, with this new deal, it’s finally getting a share of WeChat’s booming in-app economy.
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