Apple and Alibaba to Develop AI Features for iPhone Users in China

According to the US media The Information, < b > Apple recently started working with Alibaba Group to develop artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China . According to people familiar with the matter, the move is one of Apple's strategies to cope with the decline in sales in China, aiming to provide more attractive software features. The sources added that Apple and Alibaba have submitted jointly developed Chinese artificial intelligence features to China's network regulator for approval, indicating that the partnership has made significant progress. Apple has been testing different artificial intelligence models from well-known Chinese artificial intelligence developers since 2023 and chose Baidu as its main partner last year, according to people familiar with the matter. However, as Baidu has not progressed up to Apple's standards in developing models for "Apple Intelligence", the collaboration has run into some hurdles. Apple has started looking at other options in recent months, evaluating models developed by Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba and Deepseek, according to two people familiar with the matter. < b > Apple ultimately abandoned the Deepseek model because the Deepseek team lacked the necessary manpower and experience to support a large customer like Apple, one of the people said.