[News] Apple Reportedly Teams Up with Alibaba to Bring AI to iPhones in China, Rejects DeepSeek

According to Reuters, citing The Information, sources indicate that Apple is collaborating with Alibaba to introduce AI features for iPhone users in China.

The report points out that prior to this, Apple had also considered partnering with DeepSeek. However, due to the startup’s lack of manpower and experience necessary to support large clients, Apple ultimately decided not to collaborate with DeepSeek.

The report also mentions that Apple initially selected Baidu as its main partner in 2024. However, Baidu’s advancements in developing models for Apple Intelligence fell short of Apple’s expectations.

Subsequently, Apple had considered models developed by Tencent, ByteDance (the parent company of TikTok), Alibaba, and DeepSeek, and finally chose to partner with Alibaba, as the report indicates.

As noted by a report from ijiwei, one of the reasons Apple decided to partner with Alibaba is that the e-commerce giant possesses a vast amount of personal data regarding users’ shopping and payment habits. This data could help Apple train its models and offer more personalized services, as the report from ijiwei notes.

The ijiwei report also highlights that iPhone sales dropped during the holiday season, underscoring the importance of Apple launching its artificial intelligence features in China.

According to TrendForce, as the market’s attention is turning to AI-powered smartphones, devices must support on-device AI computation capabilities, such as machine learning and generative AI. AI smartphones are predominantly positioned as flagship models due to the need for advanced processors and memory specifications. AI smartphones are projected to account for 10% to 15% of total production in 2024.

Read more

• [News] Apple’s First Foldable iPhone May Debut in Fall 2026, Made by Foxconn
• [News] Apple Reportedly Set to Unveil iPhone SE 4 as Early as Next Week Without a Launch Event
• Sales Season and Flagship Launches Drive 3Q24 Smartphone Production Up 7%, Says TrendForce

(Photo credit: Apple)