The dream of the super app is alive in the US. China's WeChat is usually held up as the prime example of a super app. It is used for payments, games, travel, shopping, and a lot more. And it's been that way for years. There’s also Alipay, Grab, and Indonesia’s Gojek. In India, Paytm, PhonePe and TataNeu are all making strides. But for years, companies have tried and failed to make SuperApps happen in the US. Facebook was thought to have the best chance at this but never put it together. We've heard that Elon Musk seems to want to make Twitter into a super app, which someday maybe he will.
But a new player may enter the SuperApp chat. The Information's sources say Microsoft has been considering making an app for iPhone and Android that combines shopping, messaging, search, news, and more into a single app for iPhone and Android. The Information writes "Microsoft executives wanted the app to boost the company’s multibillion-dollar advertising business and Bing search, as well as draw more users to Teams messaging and other mobile services."
That way of phrasing it, which is of course taken from The Information, not directly from Microsoft, shines a light on the problem. Companies have tried building a super app by looking at their own business priorities and building an app that does that, without looking at consumer desires. Facebook tried to build chatbots for business into both Messenger and WhatsApp. Because it wanted businesses to pay them to do it. Businesses were lukewarm on the idea and consumers ultimately uninterested.
So the question is, what would you as a user want from a super app? We talked about this on Daily Tech News Show as well, but I'm curious what you think. Before you say "I don't want a super app," think about why. If your gut is telling you "I don't want a super app because it would be a monopoly," then maybe what you want from a super app is neutrality and choice. Where it's working , a super app gives people convenience. One place with one account that manages all he fiddly things they do. What would something that does that for you look like?
In a way, Google is already a super app, or at least primed to have one.