New Money: Beauty apps & pretty devices

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B‍eauty apps see surging popularity

While the world embraces the selfie revolution, young Chinese women are one step ahead, using photoshop-like apps to achieve their desired aesthetics: brighter skin and bigger eyes.

Meitu, a major beauty app operator in the country, staged a 4.6-billion-dollar IPO in Hong Kong in December 2016, the largest tech flotation since e-commerce giant Alibaba went public in 2007. Another industry player is Pitu, an arm of China's tech giant, Tencent. The company now has accumulated over 250 million users.

Hardware, easy profit

As beauty app operators still explore ways for monetization, hardware developers have already made a profit. Ztylus-produced LED ring lights illuminate low-light scenes and makes skin appear lighter or tinted.

App maker Meitu also sells a selfie-oriented smartphone, on which it says it profits 353 yuan (51 US dollars) per unit. That now accounts for 95.1 percent of the company's total profit.

The future is beautiful

Analysts predict the global market for skin lightening creams, gels and powders will reach 23 billion US dollars by 2020, propelled mostly by growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Assuming these users will all use the electronic beauty aids, the market will be way bigger than it is now. Experts believe app operators and hardware developers will further cooperate to create their own "beauty eco-system".

(Story by CGTN's New Money)