In brief
Chinese iOS assistants let users install paid apps for free without jailbreaking by bypassing Apple's account system. This February 2017 article cites 2016 industry figures and reports annual App Store revenue losses of up to 35%, also harming developers.
Many people now have unofficial versions of the App Store installed on their phones. Most of these so-called knockoff App Stores come from China, including unofficial apps such as PP Assistant and XY Assistant。
Traditionally, the only channel for downloading apps on iOS devices has been the App Store. However, the unofficial App Stores mentioned above also let users download apps and install large numbers of paid apps for free. They require no jailbreaking and do not damage the software bundled with Apple devices. Instead, they simply create an opening in the software and add a payment-account gateway to bypass Apple's account system.
According to the Chinese broadcasting authority's 2016 Annual Report on China's Game Industry, revenue from mobile games reached 81.92 billion in 2016 (including platform stores such as Google Play ). The mobile assistant apps mentioned above already accounted for 8 billion, causing annual App Store revenue losses of up to 35% and also harming the interests of game and software developers.
Chinese iOS Assistants Install Paid Apps for Free, Cutting Annual App Store Revenue by 35%