Apple unveiled a host of new artificial intelligence (AI) features for its iPhone, iPad and Mac devices at the recently held Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024. These AI features will be powered by in-house AI of the technology giant from Cupertino. model called Apple Intelligence and OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT. However, a report highlights that none of these AI models could receive approval from the Chinese government, and the company will have to look for local AI suppliers if it wants to introduce these features in the region.
Apple explores local AI partners in China
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Apple has already begun discussions to find a suitable local AI partner in China to power its generative AI features. Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the report claimed the tech giant is currently in talks with China's top search engine company Baidu, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and Being-based AI startup Baichuan.
The decision to go with a local AI partner was made to avoid regulatory conflicts with the Chinese government. All AI models operating in the country must first seek government approval. This rule applies to any large language model that is trained on text, image, and video databases. The verification process is said to filter out any potential chatbots that could influence public opinion.
The report reveals that 117 different generative AI products have been approved by Chinese regulatory bodies until March 2024, but none of them were developed outside of China. Therefore, the chances of Apple Intelligence making it through the approval process are considered slim.
One example is Samsung, which introduced Galaxy AI, its suite of AI features for smartphones, with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. Some of the notable features include Google Search Circle, Live Translate, Generative Edit for Photos, AI Interpreter and more. However, while in the rest of the world these AI features are powered by Samsung's in-house AI model and Google's Gemini AI, neither is available in China.
According to the post, Samsung partnered with Baidu to power features like Circle to Search, text summary and other text-based features. It also partnered with image editing platform Meitu for AI photo editing features.
Apple is already considered a late entrant to the AI race. As the company now scrambles to pick an AI partner in China to ensure a timely rollout of features like in the rest of the world, it also has to compete with the likes of Oppo and Huawei who have already started send AI features to your users.
