I use WeChat to talk to my in-laws in Mainland China. I am aware of the mini-apps that exist but they are severely lacking features & more of add on utilities to the WeChat interface.
For e.g. a popular one is a mini-app for DiDi cabs. It'll allow you to book a nearby cab & place a call/text using the WeChat integration. It is more of utility to WeChat/Weixin rather than an appstore within their app. Agreed it is somewhat borderline in definition, but the way I see it - the utilities and apps are sandboxed within WeChat ecosystem.
It is probably exciting for Apple to contemplate support for this type of platform. To see other cultural approaches is probably worth giving some freedom to becuase it will stretch their own thinking.
For e.g. a popular one is a mini-app for DiDi cabs. It'll allow you to book a nearby cab & place a call/text using the WeChat integration. It is more of utility to WeChat/Weixin rather than an appstore within their app. Agreed it is somewhat borderline in definition, but the way I see it - the utilities and apps are sandboxed within WeChat ecosystem.