Apple cracks China with Alibaba for iPhone AI
Apple recently posted and removed details explaining how Mac users in China could set up their computers to work with Alibaba’s Qwen AI. Now, Reuters has confirmed long-held speculation that Apple has revisited its Google Gemini AI playbook and built its own proprietary AI model for China with support from Alibaba. Apple worked with a Chinese partner because US models such as ChatGPT or Claude…
Apple has reportedly partnered with Alibaba and Baidu to develop a proprietary AI model for use in China, after finding Google Gemini AI unavailable in the country. This move aims to help Apple deliver AI features to Chinese customers, many of whom are interested in generative AI technology and have cited the delayed rollout of Apple Intelligence as a factor in their decision to delay an iPhone upgrade.
The partnership is seen as a strategic tool to navigate protectionism and political rivalry, allowing Apple to offer a proprietary AI model in China for the first time. Apple will work with both Alibaba’s Qwen and Baidu’s technology, with the latter's deployment still unclear. The progress on this AI initiative began in February 2025 when Apple and Alibaba submitted co-developed AI features for approval by China’s Cyberspace Administration.
The Cyberspace Administration finally registered Apple’s service recently. Chinese iPhone users can now expect to work with Apple Intelligence on their devices with the upcoming new Apple operating systems.
Written by urgent.news from Computerworld's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Apple has trained its own AI for China rather than using Gemini appleinsider.com
