Apple Intelligence, the iPhone maker’s innovative generative AI offering, is set to launch in China. Reuters reported on Wednesday that China's primary internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, has officially approved Apple's AI services for the country. This significant development stems from a strategic agreement to integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model into Apple’s comprehensive suite of operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.
Further elaborating on the collaborations, a Baidu spokesperson reached out to TechCrunch on Wednesday evening to confirm that Baidu is also actively working with Apple on specific Apple Intelligence features tailored for Chinese iPhone users.
This agreement, which had been the subject of rumors since last year, marks a pivotal advancement for Apple’s artificial intelligence ambitions within a profoundly important market. Apple's performance in Greater China demonstrated robust growth in the second quarter, with sales surging by 28% to reach an impressive $20.5 billion. Moreover, the company recently regained its position as the No. 2 smartphone vendor in China, a success partly attributed to competitive discounts offered on the iPhone lineup during a recent shopping festival.
While Apple was previously rumored to be exploring a partnership with Baidu, reports at the time indicated challenges in adapting Baidu's models for the unique requirements of Chinese customers. However, Baidu's recent statement strongly suggests that this partnership is now actively progressing. Reports also claimed that Apple had explored potential integrations with DeepSeek and with AI models from ByteDance. These extensive explorations and potential complexities contributed to delays in bringing Apple Intelligence features, which debuted globally in 2024, to the Chinese market.
Earlier, Alibaba had independently confirmed this news to CNBC in a statement, affirming that its Qwen model would be "integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences." While a specific timeframe for this integration was not provided, Alibaba specified that these capabilities would encompass advanced AI functions such as "text and image understanding and generation."
This report was initially published on July 15 and was subsequently updated on Thursday, July 16, to include the statement from Baidu.
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