Apple is racing to level up its AI game for iPhones in the Chinese mainland, where ChatGPT remains unavailable. With sales slipping 🚨—Apple recently fell out of China's top 5 smartphone brands—the tech giant is courting local AI heavyweights like ByteDance (TikTok’s parent) and Tencent (WeChat’s creator) to power its next-gen features. Talks with Baidu reportedly stalled over data privacy concerns, according to Reuters.
Why China’s AI Stars?
ByteDance’s Doubao and Tencent’s Hunyuan AI tools are already wildly popular, offering everything from meme generators to coding assistants. Meanwhile, underdog Zhipu AI is pitching its “AutoGLM” tech—think Siri, but with supercharged skills to navigate apps using voice commands 🎙️✨. Zhipu’s already working with Honor smartphones, proving its tech plays nice with hardware rivals.
The AI Arms Race Heats Up
While Samsung teamed up with Baidu and Huawei/Xiaomi built their own AI models, Apple’s cautious approach highlights the tightrope foreign firms walk in China’s regulated tech landscape. With over 100 govt-approved AI models competing, Apple’s choice could redefine its appeal to young, tech-hungry users 📲. Will this move reverse iPhone’s sales slide? Stay tuned!
