Most apps are free, but they still make money. A lot of it, too. Business Insider has compiled a list of the top ten highest-grossing apps of 2018 (from January till November 30th) and the results may be surprising to many North Americans:
1. Netflix — $790.2 million
2. Tencent Video — $490.0 million
3. Tinder — $462.2 million
4. iQiyi — $420.5 million
5. Kwai — $264.5 million
6. YouTube — $244.2 million
7. Pandora — $225.7 million
8. Youku — $192.9 million
9. QQ — $159.7 billion
10. Hulu — $132.6 million
Netflix, yup. Tinder, ok. Pandora? Sure! But what is Tencent Video or iQiyi or QQ? Does Kwai have anything to do with Kawhi Leonard? Unfortunately not. Half of these apps are from China, which is why they make so much money without so much as a mention on this side of the ocean. Tencent Video is a streaming platform (with 500 million monthly active users) owned by Tencent, a giant conglomerate that also owns QQ, a messaging app. iQiyi, Kwai and Youku are all video sharing or streaming apps as well.
This half-and-half American-Chinese list comes amid a tense trade war between the two countries, which has included the arrest of an executive of Huawei, the Chinese tech giant. Many of us in North America are beginning to realize China’s size as it exerts more of a direct influence on our economies in surprising ways.