Shanghai Municipality, east China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of mobile phone screen showing Tencent's new social network application Hood
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Amy Xu, technology analyst, Mintel:
"New apps are coming out because mainly app developers are trying to leverage on the trend of 5G. And furthermore, they are showing a more diversified competition strategy against WeChat by focusing on specific niche markets, specific segments in which there are less players."
3. Various of pedestrians using mobile phones
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Shanghai resident (name not given):
"I wouldn't use other apps unless they had very interesting functions. I'd still use WeChat."
5. Various of people using apps on mobile phones
6. Various of students in class
7. Various of student doing homework with help of apps on mobile phone
8. Various of college students during class
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Cui Lili, executive director, Institute of E-commerce, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (ending with shot 10):
"I think Tencent is anxious about the young born after 1995, the so-called Generation Z, which so many different types of e-commerce and social platforms are targeting with their own apps."
10. Various of Tencent employees at work
11. Aerial shot of Tencent building

Chinese tech giant and WeChat parent company Tencent is exploring new apps to hold onto younger generations.

Hood, the latest social app from Tencent, allows users to upload pictures of their clothing styles and make friends with others who already "like" them. At present, one must be given a private code to use it.

Unlike WeChat, the social networking app which emphasizes instant messaging functions, Hood is designed for specific niche segments of the market.

"New apps are coming out because mainly app developers are trying to leverage on the trend of 5G. And furthermore, they are showing a more diversified competition strategy against WeChat by focusing on specific niche markets, specific segments in which there are less players," said Amy Xu, a technology analyst with market research firm Mintel.

So far, Hood has just been an experiment for Tencent as it continues to ride on the immense success of WeChat, which now boasts more than 1.1 billion users.

"I wouldn't use other apps unless they had very interesting functions. I'd still use WeChat," said a Shanghai resident.

Analysts say Tencent wants to be adaptable to the changing preferences of younger generations who are key to the company's future profits.

"I think Tencent is anxious about the young born after 1995, the so-called Generation Z, which so many different types of e-commerce and social platforms are targeting with their own apps," said Cui Lili, executive director of the Institute of E-commerce at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.