[torben-friis]

I've worked for 3 different startups where the CEO at one point gave us the talk of "we're building a super app".

Admittedly openAI is in a better position to do it, but not by much.

Everyone wants to be WeChat in china. No user wants that from them.

[try-working]

WeChat is not a super app. It's a browser. Tencent WeChat is the equivalent of Google Chrome.

[Rohansi]

Is it a browser or like a browser? I've never actually used it but from what I understand WeChat's mini programs are like web apps but not something you can open up in a typical browser.

Alternatively, you could say browsers are the original super app.

[yanhangyhy]

its a super app.

I think the core issue isn’t what underlying technology is used, but rather the service providers. They package their services into mobile apps or WeChat mini programs, and restrict functionality on browsers. For many ordinary people, this provides convenience, but for those who care more about privacy, it’s quite problematic.

WeChat in China covers almost every aspect of life. Even someone like me, who doesn’t want to use it often, can’t avoid it. Some restaurants’ online ordering systems only support scanning via WeChat—that is, WeChat mini programs. People can pay utility bills, call taxis, shop, and make financial investments all within WeChat. Alipay offers similar functions as well.

WeChat is also one of the largest content platforms in China, similar to Medium. Countless creators set up subscription accounts on WeChat and gain more users through readers’ sharing and reposting.At the same time, government information is often released through the WeChat platform.

[efreak]

Medium is not one of the largest content providers anywhere, in any form that I'm aware of. There's no users sharing and reposting (arguably one of the drivers of network effects in modern social networking), no PSA, no apps or third-party extensibility, no taking over third party platforms in unrelated areas.

[try-working]

I can pay my bills in Chrome too. You really fail to understand my point that WeChat is just a browser for web apps - H5 as they are called here in China.

[try-working]

WeChat mini apps are called "H5" in China because they were enabled by the introduction of HTML 5. They are built on Tencent's WXML, which is an HTML derivative.

WeChat is a browser for mobile web applications, a small slice of the web universe gatekept by Tencent. WeChat was modelled after Gmail. So, it is very much like Chrome - you have your communications inbox, and your web apps, in the same app.

[dlev_pika]

cries in Musk