Microsoft was recently considering building a “super app” that could include shopping, messaging, news and web search services, among other services, The Information reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Windows maker considered developing the app to loosen Alphabet’s grip Google and Apple on the mobile search space, after the report.
Microsoft Executives wanted the app to also boost the company’s multibillion-dollar advertising business and Am search, as well as attract more users teams Messaging and other mobile services, The Information reported
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The report added that it wasn’t clear if the company would launch such an app, but Chief Executive Satya Nadella has been pushing for the Bing search service to perform with Teams and better outlook.
Tesla Managing Director Elon Muskwho is also the owner TwitterHas shown interest in building a super app called “X” that would combine a variety of services.
A super app popularized in Asia by Tencent Holdings WeChat and Grab Holdings of Southeast Asia, has been described as the Swiss army knife of mobile apps, offering a range of services to users such as messaging, social networking, peer-to-peer payments and e-commerce shopping.
These mega-apps are rife in Asia because mobile is the primary form of internet access for many people in the region, Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at New York University and co-host of the tech podcast Pivot, wrote in im last year .
Chinese super app WeChat is estimated to have more than 1 billion monthly users and is a ubiquitous part of daily life in China. Users can hail a car or taxi, send money to friends and family, or pay at stores.
According to the South China Morning Post, in 2018 some Chinese cities began testing WeChat for an electronic identification system that would be tied to users’ accounts.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
