Even though in China the majority of smartphones use Android, they do so with own ecosystems far from Google technology. There is HarmonyOS from Huawei, with a very ambitious plan and abandoning compatibility with Android applications. The applications they use are also radically different: on some occasions we have tried them with a, let’s say, particular experience.
It is normal that in India they opt for an application to uninstall them, and in China they ended up evolving towards a clear concept: super apps. One example is Alipay, a mobile payment solution that has come to bring together all kinds of functions. Even one that seems like a joke: it is now able to detect hair loss.
Alipay, you might as well pay for a soft drink that analyzes your alopecia
The concept of “superapp” is well established in China. These are applications that bring together different services, they do not need to be related. In this case, Alipay is primarily a Chinese mobile payment platform, operated by Ant Group.
However, it has been taking care of tasks other than payments from smartphones for some time: offers healthcare, government services and even travel. Yes, Alipay is the nerve center of the majority of mobile users in China, it is not for nothing that it allows you to do almost everything.
Now you receive artificial intelligence functions, broadening their horizons even further. SMCP echoes the latest feature that has just arrived: Alipay can now detect hair loss, in a new attempt to improve the daily lives of its users.
So users who use it can self-assess to detect baldness. How it works? We need to upload four photos to the app that cover different parts of our head: one from the front, another from above and two more on each side. From there, it also offers suggestions in case medical attention is needed.
This technology works thanks to Ant’s AntBrayer multimodal model, capable of recognizing language in different languages and even images. According to the company that developed it, it was trained on data from thousands of real cases.
Alipay continues to “fatten” its super application to compete with WeChat Pay
With this function, Alipay seeks to continue to captivate its users. You have a very competitive opponent in front of you.: WeChat Pay from Tencent Holdings, based on the super app WeChat. This is why Alipay continues to add new features in areas such as finance or lifestyle.
As confirmed by the source, this baldness “checker” has attracted the attention of users in the Asian country, since almost one in six people face problems related to hair loss, according to a survey carried out by the National Health Commission in 2020.
A function to alleviate the effects of a stressed and polluted world with unhealthy lifestyles
Alipay tool offers warnings about the appearance of hair loss scientific waysays Cai Kefa, project manager. What they are looking for is for users to stop using prevention methods that escape scientific knowledge. “It can help people stop resorting to superstitious remedies, like rubbing ginger on the top of the head,” Kefa added.
As SMCP comments, young Chinese people are beginning to realize that hair-related problems are linked to high levels of stress, as well as pollution and a generally unhealthy lifestyle. Alipay will be there to help you.
The aforementioned feature was developed by doctors at a specialized clinic at a hospital in Hangzhou, close to Ant’s headquarters. Now you may be wondering if the tool served its purpose: Shuai Juncong, one of the users who tried itclaims it is helpful for people with hair problems.
“The AI’s guidance is helpful to me,” he said. “I will recommend it to others as it is easy to use with only four images.” With this addition, Alipay continues to complete its superapp with medical services. In the past, it has integrated an “AI medical assistant” that guides patients through medical procedures. It has already been used in more than 92 hospitals in Zhejiang.
Via | South China Morning Post
Cover image | Markus Winkler on Unsplash and Green Party on Wikimedia Commons
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