Tim Hardwick
Apple is reportedly in talks with China's ByteDance and Tencent to integrate their AI models into iPhones sold in China, as the company adapts its AI strategy for the Chinese market.
Apple began integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices globally earlier this month with the release of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, but ChatGPT is not available in China due to regulatory restrictions. Chinese law requires government approval before companies can release generative AI services to the public.
ByteDance and Tencent have developed their own AI models — Doubao and Hunyuan, respectively — that could potentially be integrated into Chinese iPhones if talks are successful. However, sources cited by Reuters reportedly say the talks are still in the early stages. Apple has previously reportedly held talks with Baidu about similar AI integration.
Any partnership could be particularly significant as Apple faces growing competition in China’s smartphone market. The company briefly dropped out of China's top five smartphone vendors in Q2 2023 before rebounding in Q3, though its sales were still down 0.3% year-on-year.
- iOS 18.2: Everything you can do with ChatGPT integration
Meanwhile, Huawei is gaining momentum in the Chinese market, with sales up 42% in Q3. The company's latest Mate 70 series features AI capabilities powered by its own large language model.
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