Apple is looking for ‘AI partner’ in China, here’s why

Apple is reportedly looking to partner with a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company to launch its Apple Intelligence features in China. The Cupertino-based tech giant introduced a bunch of AI-powered features for iPhones at its annual developer conference WWDC 2024 in collaboration with ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Since ChatGPT is banned in China, Apple must find a local AI chatbot that will work alongside Siri to handle requests for AI-generated content.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Apple has held talks with Baidu, Alibaba Group and Beijing-based startup Baichuan AI. However, no deal for the same between the companies has emerged yet, the report notes.

Apple Intelligence features may remain limited to a small number of iPhone users. Firstly, these features will be exclusive to phones like iPhone 15 Pro models and above, iPads and Macs that feature Apple Silicon chips. Recently, Apple also announced that these features will not be available in countries within the European Union. Without a deal with a Chinese AI company, these features may also not arrive in China.

China requires companies to obtain government approval before deploying chatbots powered by large language models. So far, no AI products developed outside the country have received approval.

Apple has reportedly explored the possibility of securing approval for its large language model but may have found that Chinese regulators were unlikely to permit it. This is why the iPhone maker is trying to sign a deal with a Chinese AI firm to bring Apple Intelligence features to China.
The report also didn’t mention if Apple will be able to prepare a Chinese version of Apple Intelligence features by September (when iPhone 16 and iOS 18 are expected to launch), even if a deal is secured soon.
This suggests that Apple Intelligence is likely to be available in China at a later date. Also, Apple Intelligence features will only support US English at launch and additional language support is expected in 2025.
As per the report, Apple is facing troubles against other competing smartphone companies in China as AI features are already present on devices from Chinese brands including Vivo, Huawei, Xiaomi and Honor. Samsung has also reportedly partnered with Baidu and Meitu to offer a smartphone with AI integrations in China.