China Digital
From Study Xi to Himalaya FM: Top 5 Popular Chinese Learning & Study Apps
These are some of the most popular study and learning apps for Chinese mobile users.
Just three years ago, we wrote about the booming business of e-learning in China and the increasing popularity of cyber studying. In a time when Chinese mobile users spend more time on their phones than ever, the market has developed a lot since then, and study apps have become more popular than ever before.
The rise of online education (在线教育) has made it possible for people to study any topic they like, no matter how old they are, where they live, or what they do. Moreover, compared to traditional education, online studying is relatively cheap, or even free, making education more accessible to people from all layers of Chinese society. In this way, online education is a source of opportunities – both for mobile users and for companies tapping into the market.
We made our selections in our lists based on the data from the Android app stores Tencent, Baidu, Huawei, and Zhushou360. We tried our best to give you a representative overview of a variety of apps that are currently most used within this category in China, but want to remind you that these lists are no official “top 5” charts.
This article is the last of a series of five articles, listing popular Chinese apps in the categories of short video & live streaming, news, health & sports, and mobile games. We’ll list the other categories for you below this article, but let’s move over to review these mobile study and learning apps now.
#1 Help with Homework 作业帮
Help with Homework, as the name already suggests, is an app that provides primary and secondary students with study-enhancing features, offering help with courses including Chinese, English, math, history, physics, and chemistry.
In the partly free app, students can take pictures of their homework or tests. The app will then tell them if they made any mistakes. There is also a tutoring function including audio, free lessons, extra study material, a question bank, and a dictionary. It is also possible for users to upload their own essay which will then serve as an example for others.
The app was launched in 2014 by a like-named company in Beijing. Throughout the years, the app won several awards, but more importantly, it became the holy grail of every young student across the country.
According to their own website, Help with Homework has over 400 million users. And according to a report by Jiguang, more than 84 percent of the children up to the age of 15 who have a smartphone have a favorable attitude towards the app. But not only children benefit from the app. More than 82 percent of people in the age category 36 to 45 also showed a positive attitude toward the app.
In the Tencent Appstore and Apple stores, the app currently ranks subsequently first and fifth most popular education app.
#2 Study Xi Strong Country 学习强国
Study Xi is an app that was launched by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The app was launched on January 1st of this year, and has been a hit ever since.
The app is a multi-functional educational platform that offers users various ways to study Xi Jinping Thought, Party history, Chinese culture, history, and much more. To encourage users to study, the app also awards its users with incentives. There are several ways to earn points, for example through reading articles, watching videos, spending a certain amount of time on the app, sharing or saving articles or getting all the answers right with a quiz. With enough points, users can get discounts or free items online.
For more about this app, check out our ‘Everything you need to know about the Study Xi app‘ article.
In the Apple store, the app currently ranks the most popular app overall.
#3 Himalaya FM 喜马拉雅FM
Himalaya is China’s most popular audio sharing platform. The app was first launched in 2013 and was an instant success. Within two years, the app reached 200 million users, and continued steady growth. In 2017, Himalaya was selected amongst the 30 most influential Chinese enterprises of the century.
According to the company’s website, Himalaya currently caters to 450 million people. They offer users a wide variety of (educational) podcasts, audiobooks, (live) radio, and music. Some audio is free, some features need to be paid for. For most paid features, users can first partly listen to the audio-book before they can decide upon whether or not they want to purchase it.
But Himalaya is not only about audio content. It is also Himalaya‘s mission to “empower podcast creators.” By providing production, distribution, and marketing support, the app also helps creators to connect with their audiences and allow them to earn money.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, Himalaya’s daily active users grew from 12 million to 13.4 million, making it the most popular app of 2018 in the category of knowledge.
Himalaya is also available in English. However, the Chinese and International Himalaya are two separate apps and use a different logo.
#4 iReader 掌阅
iReader is amongst the leading digital reading distribution platforms globally. The company was established in 2008, and since then set up cooperations with over 600 copyright collectives. Following the domestic success, iReader went global in 2015, and is now available in more than 150 countries and has 500 million users worldwide.
The Chinese version of the app divides its content in manga and “bookstore or book city” (书城), meaning everything but manga. Both categories, however, offer a wide variety of subjects. At first sight, most content is (partly) paid, but there is also a button for free books, audio books, and podcasts, offering access to a mass of content that helps to build on knowledge and to study.
According to a report by Jiguang, iReader was China’s 62nd most successful app in 2018.
#5 Kai Shu Story 凯叔讲故事
Kai Shu Story is both a storytelling app for young children as a publishing house for children’s books. The app is mainly focused on children in the kindergarten and primary school age group, offering a wide range of genres including fables and fairy tales, science and history, famous foreign works, and – perhaps the most popular – Chinese literary works.
Different from most of the apps we covered in our “top 5 selections”, the most popular content of Kai Shu Story is has a paywall. Top paid packages include The Three Kingdoms, Poetry is Coming, Journey to the West and Kai Shu Tells History, where China’s history starting from the Shang Xia period up to the end of the Qing Dynasty is told in 635 stories.
In order to offer all users the opportunity to explore and learn in a fun way, the app also provides plenty of free content. But that is not all there is to it. Most stories end with a question to readers, who are then free to share their answers or post other remarks in a group chat. And for those whose listening skills are not so strong, most stories come with a written script too – also making this an excellent app for foreigners studying Chinese!
Kai Shu Story is founded by Mr. Wang Kai (王凯), a former host of China’s Central Television Station (CCTV) and dubbing artist (see featured image of this article). Kai dubbed thousands of famous TV dramas and movies before he resigned to spend more time with his children.
One afternoon – so the story goes – he accidentally shared a story recording for his daughter with his daughter’s kindergarten group-chat. After hearing the audio, Kai immediately received enthusiastic reactions from parents asking him to upload more stories. With his love for telling stories, he continued sharing his readings, and in no-time gathered a small fanbase. The members in the group chat gave him the affectionate name ‘Kai Shu,’ which literally translates as ‘Uncle Kai.’
From 2014 to 2016, the group-chat evolved into an official WeChat account, which subsequently led to the app. Since the launch of the app in 2016, Kai and his team have uploaded more than 8000 stories, which have been played around 3 billion times, adding up to a staggering 229 million hours of listening, according to the official website.
Kai Shu Story is currently ranked among China’s top-grossing education apps in the Chinese Apple Store.
Also see:
- Top 5 of China’s Most Popular Live Streaming and Short Video Apps
- China’s Mobile Games
- Top 6 of Popular News Apps in China
By Gabi Verberg, edited by Manya Koetse
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us.
©2019 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com
China Digital
The Fisherman’s Advantange? China Post Starts Partnership with Huawei
Today marks the start of an unexpected ‘romance’ between Huawei and China Post, as the two just announced their strategic cooperation.
First published
On June 5, the topic “China Post Starts Cooperation with Huawei” (#中国邮政与华为合作#) became one of the hottest topics on social media site Weibo shortly after the state-owned China Post Group Corporation announced that it would start a strategic partnership with the Chinese multinational tech company.
According to CNbeta.com, one of China’s major tech news sites, China Post and Huawei will start a close partnership and set up a “China Post Huawei New Technology Application Lab” (中国邮政·华为新技术应用实验室) to jointly develop strategies concerning financial services, tech innovation, big data, post logistics, and more.
News of the cooperation was widely shared on Chinese social media today by various state media outlets, with some threads attracting thousands of comments.
For many Chinese netizens, the press release apparently was the right time to complain about China Post being “too slow,” expressing hopes that the new partnership would make the postal services run more smoothly.
“Little Huawei crying on the shoulders of China Post.“
Others suggested that the recent trade war with the US, in which Huawei plays a key role, might have to do with this new move. “This is like little Huawei was being bullied outside, and then came back home to cry on the shoulders of China Post,” one Weibo user jokingly writes, soon receiving over 10,000 likes.
Others called China Post the “the fisherman with an advantage.” This comes from a Chinese saying, that goes 鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利 Yù bàng xiāng zhēng, yúwēng dé lì : “When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman has an advantage,” with the ‘fisherman’ being the third party who catches both the snipe and the clam, profiting from the conflict of two others.
The Chinese telecom giant Huawei was added to a trade blacklist earlier last month, as the China-US trade war reached another tipping point. Some experts suggest that US President Trump is using Huawei as a bargaining chip after he earlier stated that Huawei could be included in “some kind of trade deal” with China.
News of the Huawei/China Post partnership also comes days after China’s postal regulator said it would launch an investigation into US delivery company FedEx, which diverted two parcels destined for Huawei in China to the US. Chinese government authorities reportedly issued a statement saying that FedEx’s actions had “violated Chinese laws and regulations on the express delivery sector.”
“China Post kissed Huawei’s face and said: I will handle this for you.“
Chinese netizens seem to be creatively inspired by Huawei’s tough spot in the China-US trade war situation and the sudden appearance of China Post in this story. Many commenters personify ‘Little Huawei’ and ‘Big China Post,’ imagining that China Post comforts the crying Huawei and takes it in its arms.
One person writes:
“One day, Hua returned home, and went straight to bed. China Post saw it, and softly asked ‘What happened, who made you upset?’ Huawei pulled the blanket over his head and sighed: ‘Nothing, it’s a trivial matter, I can handle it myself.’ But the Post pulled down the blanket, bowed down to kiss Huawei’s face and said: ‘You go and rest now. I will handle this for you.’“
“They’re so cute together!”, multiple Weibo users write, suggesting that the Huawei China Post partnership has a ‘romantic’ element to it.
Although some people expect that there are ulterior motives behind the sudden cooperation between China Post and Huawei, many do applaud the fact that it is truly a ‘Chinese’ cooperation. “In crucial times we always rely most on our own family,” a student remarks.
By now, the cooperation is not just triggering people’s fictional creativity, it is also setting off the online meme machine, with a potential new logo for the China Post x Huawei company circulating online (see below).
Whether or not Huawei and China Post indeed get to live happily ever after? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Also read: Waves of Support for Huawei on Chinese Social Media following US Blacklisting
By Manya Koetse
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©2019 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com
China Digital
Top 10 China’s Most Popular Smartphone Brands & Models (May/June 2019)
These are the ten most popular smartphone brands and models in China right now.
In 2018, What’s on Weibo listed the top 10 most popular smartphone brands in China. With a smartphone market that is dynamic and rapidly changing, it’s time for an update to see which smartphones brands are currently most popular in the PRC.
Since 2017, we’ve seen various smartphone trends coming and going. Bezel-less devices, increasing the size of the screen, have gone from trend to norm. In the selfie era, the same holds true for high-performing front-facing cameras. More temporary trends have given way to more sophisticated gadget design. It’s all about superzoom cameras, full-view displays, pop-up selfie cameras, and let’s not forget about 5G.
One other major trend that is ongoing for the past years is that despite the popularity of Apple and Samsung, ‘made in China’ brands are dominating the smartphone and tablet market.
But the biggest trend now, more so than trendy and colorful design or smooth edges, is photography: the latest devices from different brands are now, more than ever, competing over who has the best (main) camera.
Looking at popularity charts on Baidu and Zol.com, leading IT portal website in China, the brands Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei are still the top popular smartphone brands in China. Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo were also the best-selling smartphones on the market in Q1 (Sohu), followed by Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung.
Making an absolute top 10 of most popular smartphone brands in China at this moment is not so straightforward, however, since the rankings are different depending on the source and on which phone models are sold the most at a particular time.
The charts of leading e-commerce platforms JD.com and Suning, for example, are not exactly the same as Zol’s smartphone popularity rankings. We will stick to the Zol rankings for this article, looking at brands first and matching them with their most popular device models.
#10 Realme and the Realme X
Realme is a Shenzhen-based company that was established in 2018: it is the youngest smartphone brand in this list. Previously, it was a subbrand of OPPO but became independent in May of last year.
Realme has 1,2 million followers on Weibo. Realme is recently promoting its Realme X device, of which the hashtag page has a staggering 120 million views.
The Realme phone price starts at ￥1499 ($216) for the 4GB + 64GB storage variant. It has a a 6.53-inch full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) AMOLED screen, and features a 48-megapixel primary camera.
On social media, the Realme is mostly praised for its strong camera and friendly price.
#9 OnePlus (一加) and OnePlus7 Pro
OnePlus is a Shenzhen based Chinese smartphone manufacturer founded by Pete Lau and Carl Pei in December 2013. The company officially serves 32 countries and regions around the world as of January 2018.
The OnePlus 7 Pro of ￥4999 ($722) is currently listed as the number one popular smartphone by Zol.com; the brand itself is on the lower end of the top 10 most popular smartphone brands in China.
The 7 Pro device was called “one of the best Android phones you can buy” by AndroidCentral, on top of being “the best phone OnePlus has released to-date.”
The phone is big: it features a 6.67-inch display with a screen resolution of 1440 x 3120 pixels. It has fingerprint sensor, a 4000 mAh battery, and a rear 48MP + 16MP + 8MP camera.
#8 Meizu (魅族) and the Meizu 16s
Meizu is another Chinese homegrown brand, established by high school dropout Jack Wong (Huáng Zhāng 黄章) in 2003.
The Meizu device that is currently ranked in the top 10 hot-selling lists is the 16S that was released in April and is priced at ￥3198 ($462). The device has a 6.2 inch AMOLED screen (1080 x 2232 px). The main camera is a 48 MP, and the device is equipped with a 3600mAh battery.
The cheaper 16Xs (#魅族16Xs#) was a popular topic on social media on May 30, which is when it was launched.
#7 Xiaomi (小米) and the Redmi Note
Since the launch of its first smartphone in 2011, Beijing-brand Xiaomi has become one of the world’s largest smartphone makers. In the Zol rankings the brand is currently listed at number 7, in JD.com’s hot-selling lists, it’s ranked 3. The Redmi is actually a sub-brand of Xiaomi, but it’s still listed as Xiaomi in ranking lists such as that of JD.com.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, Redmi K20, and Xiaomi 9 are all doing well, with the Redmi being the more popular device within the PRC. Techradar describes the Redmi Note 7 as a “great budget smartphone” with “stellar battery life.”
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 has a 6.3 inch (1080 x 2340) full-HD display (Full HD+) and a 12 MP main camera(the Redmi Note 7S has a 48 MP main camera). The cheapest models of ￥998 ($144) are among the lowest priced devices in this list.
#6 Apple (苹果) and the iPhone XR/XS Max
The position of Apple in China’s smartphone market has become a hot topic of discussion on social media recently in light of the rising China-US trade tensions. Although iPhone sales in China have indeed been dropping according to news reports, the iPhone XR and iPhone XS Max currently rank number 8 and number 10 most popular devices according to Zol at time of writing, with Apple ranking 6 in the top 10 smartphone brand charts. In the current list of best-selling smartphones on e-commerce site JD.com, the iPhone XR even ranks number one.
The iPhone XS Max is bigger than ever: it has a 6.5-inch OLED (2,688 x 1,242 pixels) screen whereas the XR has a 6.1-inch LCD (1,792 x 828 pixels). The camera of the XS Max has a dual 12-megapixel camera with wide-angle and telephoto. The XR has a single 12-megapixel wide-angle.
Some Chinese bloggers don’t understand why the iPhone is still so popular in China. Influential Weibo tech blogger Keji Xinyi (@科技新一) recently wrote: “The exterior of all Android flagship devices looks better than iPhone, they take better pictures too, why do girls still like the iPhone so much?”
Some of the popular answers include that people like iOS, that they prefer the “uncomplicated” use of the iPhone, and praise it for being “stable.”
With its ￥8399 ($1214) price tag, the iPhone XS Max is the most expensive phone around. The XR is currently priced at ￥5399 ($780).
#5 Honor (荣耀) and the Honor V20
Honor, established in 2013, is the budget-friendly sister of the Huawei brand. The company’s sub-brand has been doing very well over the past years. Honor focuses on great value for money.
The brand has over 21 million fans on Weibo. Honor targets younger consumers, not just with its relatively low prices, but also with its trendy designs, often offering phones in vibrant blue, pink and purple colors.
While the Honor brand currently ranks 5 on China’s nationwide smartphone brands popularity charts, its most popular device, the Honor V20, now ranks number 9 within smartphone device rankings. Another bestseller is the Honor Magic 2.
Priced at ￥2799 ($404), the V20 device is one of the cheaper ones in the popularity charts. It has a 6.40-inch display with a resolution of 1080×2310 pixels. Its rear camera is a 48-megapixel camera, with its selfie camera being a 25-megapixel one. It is available in colors Charm Sea Blue, Magic Night Black, Charm Red, Phantom Red, and Phantom Blue.
#4 Samsung (三星) and the Galaxy S10
Samsung currently is the most popular smartphone brand in the PRC that is not made-in-China. The brand seems to have been able to win back consumer’s trust after its previous problems with overheating and exploding batteries. In the first half of 2018, China actually replaced the US as the biggest market for Samsung.
The Galaxy S10 is the most popular Samsung device of this moment, and recent reports on bugs that allegedly come with a recent update have not seemed to impact its ranking.
The S10 has a 6.1-inch Super AMOLED QHD+ screen with 1440 x 3040-pixel display resolution. Like most devices on this list, its camera is good: a triple rear camera (12 MP x 12 MP x 16 MP) that can shoot panorama shots on ultra wide. The device has a dual-SIM tray/microSD card slot, and is water-resistant.
Price: ￥5999 ($867).
#3 Huawei (华为) and its P30 Series
In light of the China-US trade war, Huawei has been making international headlines recently. Judging from e-commerce ranking lists and ZOL.com popularity lists, Huawei’s popularity within the PRC seems to be unaffected by the recent consternation; if anything, it has only made the brand more popular within mainland China. Huawei remains to be one of China’s top smartphone brands.
The most popular device of the Huawei brand currently is the Huawei P30 Pro mobile, ranking fifth in Chinas most popular smartphone charts of this moment. The Huawei P30 is slightly less popular, ranked at number 8.
The P30 Pro features a Full HD+ OLED 6.47 inches display, an integrated fingerprint sensor in the display, with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. It has a 40MP + 16MP + 8MP camera that is the best part of the device, with an impressive zoom function:
The device has been called “one of the best and most unique phones” to be released this year, and is an absolute winner for its camera compared to the Samsung S10 or the iPhone XS Max. The Pro price is set at ￥5488 ($793), also making it one of the most expensive phones in the top lists of this moment.
#2 Vivo and its Vivo X27
Vivo is another Chinese brand that has gained worldwide success since it first entered the market in 2009. Its headquarters are based in Dongguan, Guangdong.
Vivo often cooperates with Chinese celebrities in its marketing campaigns, such as Chinese singer and actor Lu Han (born 1990) or Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu (born 1992), clearly targeting the post-90s consumer group.
The brand has over 37 million followers on its Weibo account, making it the most popular brand in terms of online fans.
The Vivo X27 device was launched in China in March of 2019 and is specifically marketed as a “night photo” wonder tool.
The VivoX27 is a 6.39-inch dual-sim device with a super AMOLED screen. It has a 48 MP main camera and 12 MP selfie camera, and in-display fingerprint sensor.
The Vivo X27 Pro hashtag (#vivo X27 Pro#) has over 96 million views on Weibo at time of writing, with most netizens mostly praising the device for its ability to make good photos at night. The device is currently also ranked number one on Zol.com in the best mobile gaming device category.
Priced around ￥3598 ($520).
#1 Oppo and its OPPO Reno Series
2019 is the year of 5G, and OPPO Reno is ready for it. Oppo launched its latest 5G supported OPPO Reno smartphone in April of 2019 and has since been a hit on Chinese social media. The OPPO Reno hashtag (#OPPO全新Reno#) has a staggering 560 million views on the Sina Weibo platform at the time of writing, with the launch of the orange Reno becoming a trending topic in late May.
OPPO is a Guangdong-based brand that officially launched in 2004. The brand is known for targeting China’s young consumers with its trendy designs and smart celebrity marketing. In 2016, the brand hit international top smartphone lists and ranked as the number 4 smartphone brand globally.
OPPO currently has over 25 million fans on Weibo.
The OPPO Reno has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display, a 48-megapixel main camera, a wedge-shaped pop-up camera (16-megapixel front-facing), and in-display fingerprint scanner. Besides the standard Oppo Reno, there is also the OPPO Reno’s 10x Hybrid Zoom, and that model is mostly praised on Chinese social media for its photo quality under the OPPO Reno 10 X Zoom hashtag (#OPPOReno10倍变焦版#). Check the photos below of one Weibo user (@塔湾小魔王) trying out the zoom.
Price starting from: ￥3599 ($520).
Worth mentioning:
Some brands that did not make this top 10 list are still worth mentioning. One of them is Nubia (努比亚): Nubia may not be a very well-known brand outside of China, but in the PRC it’s been consistently hitting top brand lists. Nubia, owned by parent company ZTE, has been doing very well in China’s top-scoring smartphone lists since it was officially launched in 2015.
Other popular brands include Lenovo, ZTE, and Smartisan, Meitu: all Chinese companies.
“China has so many domestically produced smartphone,” Chinese tech blogger Keji Xinyi (@科技新一) recently wrote on Weibo: “Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, OnePlus, Meizu, Lenovo, etc. etc. Why is it that if we’re talking about Chinese phones we’re always talking about Huawei?”
Among the hundreds of responses, many think Huawei is simply the best, with others saying it just has a very strong marketing campaign. Most people, however, agree that Chinese smartphone market has much more to offer than Huawei alone.
By Manya Koetse
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us.
©2019 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com
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