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Apple’s new services probably won’t come to China soon. But does China even need them?
Chinese Apple users can’t access many Apple services like iTunes Movies or the iBooks Store
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
You may have found Apple’s star-studded event yesterday enjoyable to watch and full of exciting announcements. But for Apple’s Chinese users, the event was a waste of time.
Zhihu, where people in China go to ask questions and get answers
“For mainland Chinese viewers, this is an event that doesn’t have any value or highlights,” another popular post said.
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The reason is not that they’re disappointed by Apple’s new services (Apple News+, Apple Card, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+) but because it appears that none of them will be available to Chinese users, at least anytime soon.
Chinese consumers love iPhones -- well, maybe less so recently, but that’s another story -- but some of the biggest Apple services have always been absent from the country.
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In 2016, iTunes Movies and iBooks Store were both shut down in China, reportedly at the demand of the country’s media regulator. Like many countries, Apple News isn’t available in China, but normally people can access it by switching their region to the US, UK or Australia. But it’s been reported that you can’t use that workaround in the country, because Apple News isn’t accessible on a Chinese mobile network.
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