Apple builds its own AI model for China with Alibaba’s help
Apple has trained its own large language model geared toward the Chinese market, according to sources who spoke to Reuters news agency. The move is a notable shift for a firm that had been expected to rely solely on models from its Chinese partners to support AI features on iPhones sold there.
Apple Intelligence AI tools are expected to become available in China in an upcoming update. Until now, users in the country have not been able to access these features, which are widely available abroad.
The path has not been easy for Apple, which only managed to register its generative AI service with China’s internet watchdog last month. The arrangement sees Alibaba’s Qwen model, along with technology from Baidu, built into the Chinese version of Apple Intelligence across devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs. It is not yet clear how Apple’s own model will sit alongside Qwen and Baidu.
Should the plan come to fruition, Apple will be the first foreign company to receive permission to run its own AI model in China. It’s a significant development at a time when relations between the US and China regarding AI are strained. American models such as ChatGPT and Claude remain unavailable there.
China is very important to Apple’s bottom line, and the absence of AI features on its devices has been blamed for an exodus of buyers towards local brands like Huawei that have AI assistants built into them.
Even if the paperwork is in order now, Apple does not appear to have complete control over the timetable. Earlier this month, Apple’s Chinese support site published a guide showing Mac users how they can link Qwen to Siri and Writing Tools. However, it was pulled the next day without explanation; the company would only say the feature had not yet been launched.