Why Chinese super apps got ugly — and why AI may let small teams win
oran_ge · x · 2026-10-19
@xdanger argues Chinese apps' aggressive growth hacks stem from weak IP protection making plagiarism cheap and competition brutal — super apps were a competitive outcome, not a design choice. @DashHuang adds that once a project spans 100+ maintainers with KPI pressure, even design-loving bosses can't hold the line. Both hope AI collapsing software engineering scale barriers will let small teams with distinctive taste build beautiful, sustainable products that beat the ugly giants.
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