Apple is currently engaged in discussions with Tencent and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, regarding the potential integration of their artificial intelligence models into iPhones distributed in China, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
This initiative comes shortly after Apple began incorporating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its devices, an element of the Apple Intelligence product aimed at enhancing the capabilities of its Siri voice assistant. This feature allows Siri to leverage ChatGPT’s capabilities, particularly for user inquiries related to photos and documents, including presentations.
However, ChatGPT is not accessible in China, where stringent regulatory requirements necessitate that generative AI services secure government approval before being released to the public. This situation has prompted Apple to consider collaborations with local partners to build its AI features, especially as the company’s market share within the country continues to wane.
According to the sources, the discussions between Apple, Tencent, and ByteDance are still in their infancy. The sources requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations.
While ByteDance has not commented on the matter, Apple and Tencent did not provide immediate responses to requests for their input.
Forming a successful partnership for AI services in China could position the selected company as a significant player in an increasingly competitive landscape, where numerous large language models are being introduced by both major corporations and emerging startups.
Among the players in this space are ByteDance’s Doubao, Tencent’s Hunyuan, and Baidu’s Ernie, a language model from the established search engine giant.
Apple has also reportedly been in discussions with Baidu regarding its AI model, but recent reports indicate that these talks have encountered challenges, including technical disagreements about utilizing iPhone user data to refine AI models.
Baidu has yet to respond to inquiries concerning these developments.
The lack of AI functionalities in the latest iPhones available in China has presented a considerable challenge for Apple, which is grappling with a decrease in market share within the world’s largest smartphone market, largely due to fierce competition from domestic manufacturers like Huawei.
Huawei has made a comeback in the premium segment, launching its Mate 70 series last month, which showcases AI capabilities driven by its proprietary large language model.
In the second quarter, Apple briefly fell out of the top five smartphone vendors in China but managed to recover in the following quarter. Nonetheless, the company’s smartphone sales in the third quarter plummeted by 0.3 percent compared to the previous year, in contrast to Huawei’s impressive sales growth of 42 percent, according to data from research firm IDC.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
