Chinese tech giant Tencent has agreed to make some of its most important apps available on Apple’s Vision Pro headset ahead of its launch in the country later this year, The Information reports.
Tencent is one of the biggest multimedia companies in the world and its apps and services are ubiquitous in China. It owns Weibo, WeChat, QQ, WeBank, Tencent Pictures, and games such as Honor of Kings and PUBG.
Apple TV+ and many other entertainment services such as Disney+ are not available in China. “Without Tencent’s contribution, Apple would have faced a greater challenge in marketing the Vision Pro in China,” the report explains, calling the company’s move “critical” to the device’s success in the country.
Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the Vision Pro will launch in China this year. It is likely to be more expensive in China due to import taxes and could even be marketed under a different name due to a trademark dispute with Huawei.
Apple is also apparently seeking Chinese partners to help it launch and run Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Fitness+ in the country. The company has not launched any new services in China since iCloud in 2017 due to government restrictions.
Popular Stories
Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce…
Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There’s also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who…
New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as “Instant Digital.” Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will…
Apple Says These New iOS Features Are Coming Later This Year
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to …
Seven Reasons to Wait for Next Year’s iPhone 17
Apple’s iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple’s 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip…
iOS 18 Rumored to Feature ‘More Customizable’ Home Screen
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is “more customizable,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for…
Top Stories: iOS 18’s Generative AI Features to Rely on Google?, Latest on New iPads, and More
We’re getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week’s surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year’s update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1…