QQ came before WeChat and now itโs following its more successful sibling by diving into the world of mini-programs. In so doing, the messaging app, which recently turned 19, is hoping to get a new lease on life.
According to Tencent, the QQ Light Application (QQ่ฝปๅบ็จ) will focus on entertainment areas including โlight gamesโ and e-books.
Mini programs are like independent apps but can be launched directly from WeChat.
The formal debut today introduced new features including mobile payment services to QQ, marking a functionality expansion of the existing QQ Wallet.
The countryโs more than 800 million netizens and high digitalization levels in general are encouraging the rise mini programs.
QQ Light Applicationโs release will make QQ the seventh application that supports mini programs and similar applications. In addition to WeChat, other Chinese social media and traffic giants such as AliPay, Baidu, Taobao, and TikTok and its sister company Jinri-Toutiao, are building their own mini-program like infrastructure.
According to a mini program report (in Chinese) released by market research company iResearch in March, users of WeChat mini programs surpassed 400 million in 2017.
