Apple’s AI smarts to hit iPhones in this market soon, but the fine print might sting
Just recently, we told you that Apple is teaming up with Alibaba to bring AI-powered features to iPhones in China. Now, we've got an idea of when exactly that might go down.
A new report reveals that Apple is aiming to bring its AI features to China's massive smartphone market by mid-year, with a potential launch set for May. Apple is reportedly working with multiple teams in both China and the US to adapt its Apple Intelligence platform for the region. But there's more to it – aside from the engineering efforts, Apple still has to navigate some regulatory challenges in China.
This is a huge task for Apple, which has seen a sharp drop in sales in China, its biggest market outside the US. Local brands, leveraging their own AI features, have been poaching iPhone customers. Getting the AI technology just right is key for Apple if it hopes to regain its footing there.
To make it happen, Apple is leaning heavily on local partners like Alibaba and Baidu. Word is that the company has teamed up with Alibaba to develop an on-device system capable of tweaking and adjusting Apple's AI models for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in China. This system will also censor and filter AI output to meet the Chinese government's regulations. Baidu, on the other hand, will step in as a secondary partner, taking care of other features.
Reportedly, in China, Apple will stick with its own on-device AI models, but Alibaba's software will act as an additional layer to censor content that the government disapproves of.
In other words, the Chinese government might have the power to direct Alibaba to ask Apple to adjust the AI models whenever there's an issue with the information being shared. If a customer's device is running an outdated AI model, Apple will temporarily disable its AI features until the data is updated to remove any forbidden content.
However, this new AI system will only be available on iPhones and other Apple devices sold in China. So, if someone buys an iPhone abroad and takes it to China, it won't be using the local AI system.
Meanwhile, Baidu will handle features like Visual Intelligence, which lets iPhone 16 scan items and fetch web info. In the US, Google and OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, power Visual Intelligence, with OpenAI also helping Siri and writing tools.
So, overall, getting Apple's AI up and running in China is more complicated than just flipping a switch, which is why Apple Intelligence still isn't available there. And it's a similar story in the European Union, where regulations have delayed its launch (though for entirely different reasons). However, Apple is aiming for a spring rollout in the EU, though it's still unclear what changes will come to how its AI features will operate in the region.
A new report reveals that Apple is aiming to bring its AI features to China's massive smartphone market by mid-year, with a potential launch set for May. Apple is reportedly working with multiple teams in both China and the US to adapt its Apple Intelligence platform for the region. But there's more to it – aside from the engineering efforts, Apple still has to navigate some regulatory challenges in China.
To make it happen, Apple is leaning heavily on local partners like Alibaba and Baidu. Word is that the company has teamed up with Alibaba to develop an on-device system capable of tweaking and adjusting Apple's AI models for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in China. This system will also censor and filter AI output to meet the Chinese government's regulations. Baidu, on the other hand, will step in as a secondary partner, taking care of other features.
Apple Intelligence in the US is made up of three types of AI: features that run directly on Apple devices, features powered by Apple's servers and OpenAI chatbot capabilities hosted on OpenAI's infrastructure.
Video credit – Apple
In other words, the Chinese government might have the power to direct Alibaba to ask Apple to adjust the AI models whenever there's an issue with the information being shared. If a customer's device is running an outdated AI model, Apple will temporarily disable its AI features until the data is updated to remove any forbidden content.
However, this new AI system will only be available on iPhones and other Apple devices sold in China. So, if someone buys an iPhone abroad and takes it to China, it won't be using the local AI system.
Meanwhile, Baidu will handle features like Visual Intelligence, which lets iPhone 16 scan items and fetch web info. In the US, Google and OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, power Visual Intelligence, with OpenAI also helping Siri and writing tools.
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