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.
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