Top 10 Apps in China, 2014

Last year was a turning point for the global internet. As revealed by statistics from ComScore， a listed American research company， the duration scale of individual app online users through smart phones and tablets surpassed ordinary PCs. The sudden rise of the app economy has provoked a great migration from PCs to the mobile internet accessed through tablets or phones.

Here are the ten most popular apps in China in 2014.

WeChat： World’s Largest Mobile App

Dubbed the largest mobile application in the world， Tencent’s WeChat has attracted over 600 million users across the planet， 500 million of whom are found in China. Since 2011 when it went live， the app， featuring a free instant messaging service， has followed the social trends of the mobile internet era， which is why it has become the largest mobile social platform in China at a breakneck speed.

With the growing popularity of mobile internet， WeChat has grown from a simple instant messaging app to a platform offering a wide range of services， including mobile payments. With its latest 6.0 version， users can share videos less than eight seconds， creating another way to connect people along with text and oneminute voice.

Momo： Connecting with Strangers

A mobile communication app based on geographic location， Momo was born at almost the same time as WeChat. Unlike most apps competing with WeChat， Momo stood firm against the mighty power of WeChat thanks to its differentiated features. Contrasting WeChat which enables connecting with familiar faces， Momo specializes in linking strangers who happen to be within a ten-meter radius through text messages and pictures.

By the end of September 2014， its users surpassed 180 million. In December 2014， Momo was listed on NASDAQ， the last Chinese firm to do so in 2014.

BeautyCam： Magic Selfie

BeautyCam is an app designed to produce better selfies developed by Meitu Inc.， which became famous for MeituPic photo processing software. With powerful ability to enhance faces， especially the eyes and face， the app has become indispensible for many users， young women in particular. Only a year after its release in 2013， its users have exceeded 100 million.

The astonishing growth of BeautyCam evidences the popularity of taking selfies with smart phones. The term “selfie” was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2013， and countless notable figures including even American President Barack Obama have joined the legions of selfie-takers. As BeautyCam’s popularity rose， apps to remove its effects and restore the original face emerged.

Alipay Wallet： Prevailing Mobile Payment

With over 100 million users， Alipay Wallet has become the lead mobile payment platform in China and the world， surpassing Paypal in active users. Last year was dubbed the year of mobile payment by many in China. Not long ago， on December 12， Alibaba launched a 50%-off campaign in over 20，000 stores using Alipay Wallet， bringing in 4 million deals on that day. EnfoDesk’s latest report on third-party payment market monitoring in China shows the mobile-payment trading volume of the third quarter of 2014 reached 2.0533 trillion yuan， of which 70.26 percent came from Alipay Wallet – leader of the market.

Didi Taxi： Cab App

A free taxi-hailing app， Didi Taxi has upended the tradition of waving one’s hand to attract passing cabs， cutting costs for both customers and drivers and showcasing how the mobile internet can change lifestyles.

In the first half of 2014， Didi joined another taxi service app to offer subsidies to both passengers and drivers， increasing their user bases exponentially. To count， more than 100 million users can be found in China.

The Paper： Serious News

A live app since June 10， 2014， after the reform of Shanghai United Media Group （SUMG）， The Paper provides a media platform specializing in current politics and ideology. Reading news on a phone has become normal for many today. The content of news is the soul of news app. At a time when domestic news focuses more on entertainment in China， The Paper attracts users interested in serious news， injecting fresh air to news portals.

Mobile Taobao： Shop Anytime， Anywhere

Mobile Taobao is a mobile shopping app from taobao.com， the largest e-business platform in China， which enables users to shop anytime， anywhere. Statistics released by Alibaba show that last November 11 （also known as Singles’ Day， a huge online shopping day）， daily gross turnover topped 57.1 billion yuan， 24.3 billion of which was contributed by mobile clients， accounting for 42.6 percent of the annual total. This figure is five times that of 2013. Meanwhile， the total volume of orders placed through mobile apps for other e-commerce retailers such as Jingdong and Suning is comparable to that of Tmall， meaning that the battlefield of e-business has shifted from PCs to mobile devices. The year 2014 is thus considered the turning point for mobile e-commerce.

Toutiao： Customized Info

Toutiao （Headlines Today） is a recommendation engine of personalized information based on big data technology. By the third quarter of 2014， it had accumulated over 160 million users， 16 million of whom are active daily， making it the client-side information aggregator with the fastest growth.

The information explosion has afforded greater choice， which can also get users lost. Toutiao helps them make better choices by recommending personalized information intelligently in a comfortable way. Experts believe that in the future， people can receive information in an automated， intelligent， personalized way instead of manual searching through traditional media.

Dianping： Third-Party Appraisal Platform

Dianping is an app from Dianping.com， serving as a third party. It is an interactive platform providing information on commercial tenants and consumption privileges and user comments in realms of food， shopping， and recreation， based on geographic location.

Today， this app has become a basic tool for many. One reason for its popularity is its independent assessment as a third party， feeding the psychological demands of netizens eager to share their experiences and comment on services they’ve enjoyed.

Changba： Mobile Karaoke

Changba is especially designed for karaoke fans to use their phones to share songs， complete with echo and voice-enhancing effects.

A typical new app， it has drawn more than 200 million users in two years. Changba developers plan to move their massive volume of online users offline. On December 19， 2014， its first mini KTV opened in Beijing， and it hopes to open another 2，000 across China within five years.