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Apple faces an uphill battle to release its own AI models for iPhones and other products in China. A senior Beijing official warned that foreign corporations will undergo a “difficult and lengthy process” to realize approval unless they work with local groups.
Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in China on Monday for his third visit this yr as the corporate tries to navigate the country's complex regulatory system and apply its Apple intelligence to devices sold within the country.
In recent months, the US group has held talks with Chinese technology corporations to advance Apple Intelligence within the country. Last month, the corporate began rolling out the suite of AI features within the US on iPhones and other devices.
Apple has also considered running its own large language models in China, in line with two people accustomed to the matter.
However, a top Chinese technology regulator told the Financial Times that foreign corporations like Apple would face a lengthy and sophisticated approval process to operate their very own models, mentioning that partnering with locals was the perfect option.
The senior official on the Cyberspace Administration of China said it’s a relatively “easy and easy approval process” for foreign device makers to make use of already-vetted LLMs from Chinese corporations.
The Chinese official spoke last week on the sidelines of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, west of Shanghai. All corporations wishing to supply generative AI services to the general public must undergo an approval process, which usually includes an official review of their LLMs.
Apple declined to comment.
The US tech giant has been working to reinvent itself in AI this yr, betting on consumers to upgrade their devices to access recent features that don't work on older iPhone models.
Apple's sales in China have stalled amid a top-down campaign to scale back iPhone use amongst Chinese government employees and a nationalist backlash over delicate U.S.-China relations.
Another threat is the return of national leader Huawei, which has already integrated its generative AI offerings into its latest devices.
In the US, Apple's own models support features corresponding to Siri, writing assistance, photo editing and custom emoji generation, using a combination of on-device processing and Apple's cloud servers. The company has leveraged OpenAI's much larger models to handle more complex queries.
If Apple can't use its own models in China, it will depend on LLM's Chinese partner to power any generative AI features in phones sold within the mainland.
Apple's AI collaboration discussions also included talks with search giant Baidu, in line with three people accustomed to the matter. One of the people added that Apple has also spoken to technology group ByteDance and Moonshot, the startup behind AI chatbot Kimi.
China is Apple's top market outside the U.S., contributing 17 percent of sales within the yr ended September. However, sales within the country fell by 8 percent in comparison with the previous yr.
When Cook visited Beijing last month, he told local media that the corporate was “working hard” on Apple Intelligence's China debut.
“There is a really specific regulatory process behind this and we want to finish that process,” he said. “We also hope to make it available to Chinese consumers as soon as possible.”
JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said: “The regulatory process in China stays somewhat more opaque for Apple and other international corporations.”
Apple would likely take a “flexible” approach and seek partnerships with Baidu in addition to other smaller corporations in China to place them in a “higher position to receive approval,” he said.
Still, uncertainty over the regulatory process “will likely push the timeline for Apple Intelligence's launch (in China) well into the second half of 2025 or beyond,” Chatterjee said.
