Apple Still Looking for an AI Partner to Bring Apple Intelligence to China
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Apple previewed several new Artificial Intelligence features coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac later this year, from its own unique and personalized Apple Intelligence features to a new partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone, where it will work side-by-side with Siri to handle requests for AI-generated content and information that Apple’s own AI can’t handle on its own.
While this setup is fine for most of the world, it poses a problem for Apple in China. This is because ChatGPT and similar Artificial Intelligence services are not available in the country, meaning Apple needs to find a China-approved AI partner to augment Apple Intelligence inside Chinese borders.
The Wall Street Journal reports Apple is actively searching for a Chinese AI company to partner with. The report says Apple has held talks with Alibaba Group, Baidu, and Beijing startup Baichuan AI, but so far no deal has been made with any of the Chinese AI companies.
Apple has already announced that certain Apple Intelligence features will not be made available to European Union users due to potential challenges in complying with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act. If Apple fails to find a Chinese AI partner, China could also be left without some of those features.
AI firms in China must receive government approval before rolling out AI chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) to ensure they don’t generate content that goes against Beijing’s ideology. China has yet to approve any AI models developed outside of the country, and that includes ChatGPT.
It’s unclear where Apple’s on-device LLM used by Apple Intelligence will fit into this, as Apple is breaking new ground here compared to other smartphone makers, all of which rely solely on cloud-based LLMs. Analysts told CNBC that Apple will likely have to “build an on-device AI model and a cloud-based AI model that complies with local regulations,” and “create a localized AI experience on its devices that appeals to Chinese users.”
However, Apple Intelligence is only part of the puzzle, as Apple’s AI push also relies on handing Siri requests over to ChatGPT for answers to more complex “world knowledge” questions. For that, Apple will need a China-based company to partner with, as Beijing is unlikely to ever grant approval for foreign LLMs to operate inside the country.
Unfortunately, even if Apple gets government approval and finds a Chinese AI partner, it’s unlikely to have everything in place for the public release of iOS 18. Apple has already announced that Apple Intelligence will only be available in United States English at launch, with support for more languages not arriving until 2025. The initial version is also expected to carry a “beta” label that likely won’t be removed until next year.
Several Chinese smartphone makers are already offering AI features in the country. AI features are available on devices from Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Honor. Samsung also offers its Galaxy AI features in China, thanks to its partnership with Baidu and Meitu. However, unlike Apple Intelligence, these are all entirely cloud-based, with no on-device processing.
Apple and Meta AI
In related Apple Intelligence news, Apple has rejected an AI partnership with Facebook parent company Meta over privacy concerns, according to a report from Bloomberg. The report says that while Apple and Meta briefly discussed such a partnership in March, the talks failed to move forward and Apple will not integrate Meta’s large language model (LLM) into iOS.
While a weekend report by The Wall Street Journal indicated that Apple and Meta were actively discussing the finer points of integrating Llama, Facebook’s LLM, into iOS 18 as part of Apple Intelligence, Bloomberg says Apple never seriously considered a partnership with Meta.
Apple decided not to move forward with the discussion because “it doesn’t see that company’s privacy practices as stringent enough.”
At WWDC24, Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that Apple is planning to establish deals with multiple providers to give users a choice between different AI models for answering world knowledge queries. Apple is also reportedly in discussions with Google about licensing its Gemini AI models, but it’s unclear whether those talks are still ongoing or what stage they’re at.
Apple isn’t paying OpenAI as part of the partnership, and the WSJ reports that discussions with other AI companies have also included the understanding that neither party will pay anything to the other.
