Apple Partners with Alibaba and Baidu to Enhance iPhone AI Features in China

Last year, Apple introduced its Apple Intelligence features with the iPhone 16 series. In most parts of the world, including the United States, these features rely on a combination of Apple's technology and OpenAI's ChatGPT. However, since ChatGPT is banned in China, Apple needed an alternative solution to offer these services. On Thursday, Alibaba revealed it is collaborating with Apple to bring Apple Intelligence to new iPhones in China.

Joseph Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba, commented, “They spoke with several companies in China but ultimately chose us. They want to use our AI for their phones, and we are honored to work with a great company like Apple.”

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple is also partnering with Baidu to introduce Visual Intelligence features. Additionally, a report from The Information suggests that Apple and Baidu are developing an AI-powered search feature that combines text and images. It also mentions that Baidu might power a Chinese version of Siri for Apple. To comply with Chinese laws, Alibaba is expected to adjust and censor content on Apple’s on-device models.

These AI features are expected to launch by mid-2025, with Bloomberg indicating that Apple plans to introduce Alibaba and Baidu-driven Apple Intelligence features by May 2025.

However, the announcement does not specify which other local Chinese tech companies Apple might collaborate with for these AI features. Several reports indicate that Apple has tested models from Tencent, ByteDance, and DeepSeek, and may still partner with additional firms.

The launch of these AI features in China is crucial for Apple, particularly after a sharp decline in its sales in the country. In 2024, Apple saw a 17% drop in annual shipments in China, the largest fall since 2016. This downturn allowed local brands like Vivo, Xiaomi, and Huawei to overtake Apple in market share. Apple fell to third place in the Chinese smartphone market by the fourth quarter of 2024, behind Huawei and Xiaomi.

Source: India Today