Apple's WWDC 2016 is filled with love for China. (Photo : Getty Images)
Apple is not shy in showing how it adores the second biggest economy in the world as its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2016 developer keynote speeches were filled with shoutouts to only one country: China.
The Fast Company and netizens are quick to notice the multiple references to the Asian giant and companies hailing there as Tim Cook and Apple's developers spoke at the event.
While it may be noteworthy, Apple's love for China had been proven numerous times in the past, particularly after the Cupertino-based company opened up its wallet to Uber's biggest Chinese competitor, Didi Chuxing.
Showing Love
The Fast Company listed down Apple's six major shoutouts to China, noting that when there is opportunity to namedrop the country, the company does so with little subtlety.
Among the shoutouts that occurred in the WWDC include the announcement of the new feature for Apple Watch called "Scribbles," which is only available in English and Chinese currently.
The company also revealed a new emergency calling feature for the Apple Watch when they specifically mentioned Hong Kong when talking about international support for the app.
China's widely used instant messaging platform WeChat was also mentioned during the event, particularly during the unveiling of a smarter Siri SDK who can be ordered to send a message via the Chinese-made app by voice command.
Apple also discussed Apple Pay, but did not forget to mention and emphasize its support for China's Alipay and noted that the new Phone iOS extension API can be useful in the country since it could aid in detecting phone scams.
Of course, Apple did not fail to mention its new partner, China's cab-sharing developer Didi, when talking about opening Apple Maps to developers.
Why All the Love
While some may be troubled at the sickly sweet way Apple treats China, CNBC believes that this love affair was the main reason why the company succeeded in doing business in the country where many failed.
According to a report posted early in 2015, Apple's success in China could teach so many tech firms in the United States about wooing the Asian giant.
Despite the cutthroat competition and massive hindrances guised as laws to protect China's national security, Apple was able to perform well in the Chinese market.
"All the stars aligned for Apple. Apple has a premium product in a country that is doing well economically," explained Craig Elimeliah of the marketing agency Rapp.
Echoing Elimeliah's opinion, Shanghai-based China Market Research Group managing editor Shaun Rein said that Apple is loved by the Chinese so much that they are willing to pay double to get their hands on Apple products from the black market instead of waiting months to get their orders.
