China is world’s largest smartphone market, by far. But it’s a black hole for app data.
Here at Wandoujia, China's leading Android app store, we decided to change that.
The top trend for July 2013? Chinese are flocking to video apps. Find out what's driving this trend and what will happen to China's next gen TV stars.
Apidays New York 2024 - Scaling API-first by Ian Reasor and Radu Cotescu, Adobe
China App Index: Will mobile kill the TV star? [July 2013]
1. Wandoujia
Will mobile kill
the TV star?
Chinese flock to video apps
The China App Index
July 2013 Edition
China’s leading Android app store
Top trend:
2. Top Trends in July 2013
Will mobile kill the TV star?
Chinese flock to video apps
“Make it mine”
Personalization via wallpapers and themes
“Make me healthy”
A new dieting advisor tops the charts
1
2
3
3. “I spend an hour each way
on the subway everyday,”
Dean, a 29-year-old
salesman, complains. “It’s
such a waste of time!”
For a country on the move, leisure
must be finagled into awkward
pockets of time between overtime,
long commutes, and an ever-
changing environment. Getting
home for dinner and the 7 o’clock
news each night is simply
unrealistic.
Will mobile kill the TV star?
4. “You can see any show you want online,” Dean explains.
“I watched most of Kuaile Nansheng on the subway and was
always ready to gossip about it with my coworkers when I arrived
at work!”
Since most TV shows are quickly available online, China’s
smartphone owners make the most of their
fragmented time on the move…
Will mobile kill the TV star?
5. “Video killed the radio star” goes the classic song. So what will happen to TV stars in the mobile era?
So far so good. China’s top video sites are in a bidding war for content rights. Several--including
Tencent, Sohu, and Tudou--have even invested significant amounts to produce original
programming, as Netflix is just starting to do now.
In China, virtually any TV show is quickly and legally available to watch online.
Sohu Video
(搜狐视频)
Monthly downloads: 451k
Will mobile kill the TV star?
Sohu is one of China’s leading video sites
(NASDAQ: SOHU). It recently acquired the
exclusive rights to the second season of the
hottest show in China: The Voice of China. News
reports put the price at a cool 100 million RMB
(~16 million USD)
Even as TV viewership plateaus, these stars will
keep singing on mobile devices.
1
User pic Celebrity pic
6. School’s out for the summer! China’s students finally have a reprieve from the pressure
cooker of their grueling schooling. Many of China’s top shows, including The Voice of
China, launch their new seasons to capitalize upon this moment.
This month, the video apps Tudou (+163%) and Xunlei Kankan (+126%) were among the
top 5 fastest-growing apps.
Tudou
(⼟土⾖豆)
Monthly downloads: 276k
Growth rate: 163%
Will mobile kill the TV star?
Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) is another of
China’s top video sites. Although Tudou tries
to differentiate itself with more user-generated
content, online video in China is still dominated
by professionally-created content.
1
User pic Celebrity pic
7. Aggregate data also strongly supports this trend. There are now 160 million mobile video
watchers in China, according to CNNIC.
And video apps were by far the fastest-growing apps in China over the past year:
average session length rose an astonishing 259%: from 9 minutes to 31 minutes.
1 Will mobile kill the TV star?
video
reading
photos
games
tools
Change
in
App
Usage
(China
2012)
Reasons for the trend:
1. Bigger screens (phablets)
2. Bigger storage capacity (8-16 GB standard)
3. Better battery life
4. Better Wi-Fi access (mobile data is still expensive)
Source:
Umeng
Analy>cs
Pla@orm
Introduction to “Wandoujia Video Search”
The beta version was released on August 8, 2013.
Why’d we build this product? It’s simple. From July
2012 to July 2013, our video downloads grew
1100%.
But it’s tricky to find the video you’re looking for
across multiple apps. Is it in Sohu, Tudou, or or
PPTV? Wandoujia Video Search solves this problem
by deep-linking to specific videos within these
different apps.
8. 6 kids, one room.
China’s students have a hard enough time squeezing into their dorm
rooms, much less personalizing their own space.
Make it mine
9. “I don’t live in a big place, but since moving in I’ve made it
my own. I like it clean, simple, wooden, and personal,”
Xiaobai proudly explains about the room he rented in Beijing immediately
after graduating.
The rise of individualism in China has created a greater demand to design
one’s own space. Even in crowded quarters, one space that will always be
available for personalization? Your smartphone…
Make it mine
10. Wallpapers and theming apps are always popular in China. This
month, Sogou Wallpaper, Baiwan Wallpaper, and a Xiaomi Theme
placed highly in the ranks of top new apps.
Sogou Wallpaper
Monthly downloads: 106k
This app offers over a million(!) different HD
wallpapers to choose from. It is unclear what
percentage are kittens.
Sogou wallpaper can automatically refresh
your home screen every day. While it personal
space is hard to come by in China, your phone
is always open for customization.
2 Make it mine
Hello Kittens!
11. Chinese love to customize their phone not only on the outside, but on
the inside too. Fortunately Android supports far more customization
than the comparatively closed iOS.
Find Something Theme for Xiaomi
(找你妹⼩小⽶米主题)
Monthly downloads: 66k
Find Something is one of China’s top games.
Xiaomi is one of China’s top phones. Put the two
together, and you get one of the top new apps of
the month.
Xiaomi is the poster child for Android
customization. Find Something, a game similar to
the old Where’s Waldo picture books, is just the
kind of offbeat but charming game and loving art
style that suits the rabid Xiaomi fanbase.
2 Make it mine
Lock screen for the
custom Xiaomi Theme
12. “I stopped eating lunch
for a few months to
prove to my boyfriend
that I could lose weight,”
says Xiao Chen.
Body image and fitness are
increasingly important in China
to find a good job, find a
spouse, and allay the effects of
a dismal environment. People
want help finding the healthy life
that is right for “me”.
Make me healthy
13. Xiao Chen managed to lose the
weight, but it wasn’t easy.
Reaching a goal is hard if you
don’t have a system in
moments of uncertainty.
By using apps that help
them confidently manage
their health, China’s young
people gain awareness
and knowledge that help
them improve the quality
of their life…
Make me healthy
14. Thin Thin, a dieting app for (primarily) women, was by far the fastest-growing app this
month. In the June edition we highlighted Baidu PhotoWonder, which beautifies the
‘digital you’. Now here’s an app to get your offline body into shape too.
Thin Thin
(瘦瘦)
Thin Thin calls itself “The healthy way to diet”
and it takes a serious approach. It kicks off
with a customized 15-question survey on your
eating and exercising habits. Then it sets a
detailed plan for your diet and sets you up with
a support group.
Mobile apps like Thin Thin give ordinary
Chinese more control over their own health.
3 Make me healthy
Monthly downloads: 411k
Growth rate: 252%
Support groups
can lend a helping hand
23. Crazy Song Puzzle
500,000+ downloads
in the first three days of the exclusive launch.
• Brand new game, featured with a homepage banner in Wandoujia for 3 days
• Fun, original concept: plays snippets of popular music and you have to guess the song
• 160,000+ downloads on the first day alone
24. China is world’s largest smartphone market, by far. But it’s a black
hole for app data. Mobile research firms use Google Play data,
which works for most of the world, but not for China. Nine out of ten
new smartphones sold in China run Android, but developers are left
in the dark.
Here at Wandoujia, we decided to change that. As an Android app
store with over 200 million users, we decided to shine a light on the
market. We hope it will encourage more foreign developers to come
to China.
Methodology:
• Top new: Launched within the last 60 days.
• Fastest-growing: Highest growth-rate this month, relative to an average of the previous 3 months.
• App data is carefully screened to eliminate ‘zombie downloads’ from unscrupulous sources
• All data is from the Wandoujia App Store, with 200 million+ Android users in China.
About the China App Index
http://appindex.wandoujia.com
25. The China partner for app developers
Wandoujia’s editorial team is always on the lookout for the best new
apps. That definitely includes apps from foreign developers! In the
past, we’ve partnered with Flipboard, EverNote, and Pocket to do
exclusive launches and promotions in China.
Complete media management
Wandoujia is for more than just apps. Our PC suite makes it
supereasy for users to manage all of their content. That
includes movies, TV shows, music, and e-books too.
The place for mobile gamers
Wandoujia is the easiest way to reach a massive audience of
gamers in China. For developers, our app promotion system
makes it easy to be discovered and our payment SDK makes
it easy to get paid.
Learn more here:
http://www.slideshare.net/WandouLabs/
brandbook-en?from_search=5
About Wandoujia
26. Benefits for Registered Developers:
• Verified developer badge gives developers peace of mind
• Push updates to your Chinese users, quickly and efficiently
• Eligible for campaigns and featured promotions
• Optimized search result ranking
Register today:
http://developer.wandoujia.com/intl
Wandoujia Developer Center
New: English-language submission process!
27. 150,000 downloads
in the first week.
Our China launch with Wandoujia was a big success.
A few short days after we got in contact, we were ready to launch with a nicely
designed campaign that fit with our brand image. Wandoujia has delivered hundreds-
of-thousands of downloads, including some of our highest-quality users in China.“
Case Study: Flipboard in China
-Alvin Tse, Product Director at Flipboard China
When Flipboard came to China in June 2012,
they partnered with Wandoujia on the launch
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29. Special Thanks
David C. Wang
Visual Ethnographer at China Youthology
david.wang@chinayouthology.com
David created the visuals and stories
that bring to life our trends this month.