Apple Intelligence Faces Delays in China
5 Facebook x.com Reddit Rumor Score 🤯 Likely
Apple Deal with Local Firm Baidu to Bring Apple Intelligence to China Reportedly Hesitating Over Technical and Philosophical Privacy Issues
Apple Intelligence could provide the boost Apple needs to iPhone sales in China after years of decline and increased local competition. But while Apple could theoretically go it alone in the country with Apple Intelligence, in practice it has to partner with a Chinese firm — and it faces challenges.
While it is now partnering with Baidu, after local media initially denied it, The Information reports that the partnership is struggling. The problem is that Baidu’s large language models (LLMs) can’t provide the kind of answers Apple wants to typical iPhone user questions.
An example is given of how Baidu AI would respond to a restaurant recommendation query using the data it was trained on. Apple wants Apple Intelligence to personalize the answer by taking into account what else the user is doing and where they are.
Perhaps as a result, Baidu is said to want to improve its learning — and so is storing user data to achieve this. But Apple won’t allow this on purpose.
These setbacks occur despite Baidu using its most advanced LLM, called Ernie 4.0. Additionally, where Apple doesn’t pay OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT, it pays Baidu.
This makes Apple now one of Baidu’s biggest customers, even though the two companies have been working together for over a decade. In China, for example, iPhone users use Baidu instead of Google for searches, so it makes sense for Apple to use them to get around any issues with Chinese regulators.
Just like in the US and the rest of the world, Apple wants Apple Intelligence to run on-device as much as possible. Consequently, the two companies are working on a smaller version of Ernie that will run on the iPhone and a larger one that will run in the cloud.
Apple Intelligence has already been delayed until 2025 in China, but the impact of these issues will affect more than just its launch date. It will likely impact overall iPhone sales in the country, too.
While analysts like JP Morgan have been talking about signs of a rebound in iPhone sales in China, not all the evidence agrees. Most recently, Apple saw a double-digit decline in iPhone sales during China's Singles Day shopping event, driven by growing competition from local rivals like Huawei.
Rumor Score
🤯
Likely
Follow AppleInsider on Google News
