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Apple is yet to bring its AI features in the country which has seen its iPhone sales drop down over the last few quarters.
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Apple is not going to work with DeepSeek for its AI push in China
Apple is busy working on its AI tools and the new Siri upgrade but most of them are yet to reach China which is one of the biggest markets for the brand. But it seems Apple will soon enter the AI arena in the region competing with the likes of DeepSeek rather than working with them.
A new report by the Information claims Apple has rejected DeepSeek as its AI model partner in China and decided to go with Alibaba instead. In fact, sources quoted in the report claim Apple has already started working with Alibaba for new AI features that could soon be available for iPhone users in the country.
DeepSeek is clearly the Apple of everyone’s eye these days but it seems Apple has gone with an established name which has been around for decades in the region. The company had even shortlisted Tencent and ByteDance for its ambitions but it seems Apple has eventually gone with Alibaba for business reasons.
Apple AI In China: What It Might Look Like
AI features in China can only be released after the country’s government gives its approval and the report says Apple and Alibaba have already submitted these tools for further scrutiny. We still don’t know much about the AI features coming to iPhone users in China but that should become clearer in the coming months.
Apple quickly needs the AI push in China where it has seen its foothold lose to the local giants like Huawei. Apple’s AI start has been a mixed bag, which includes the company being forced to disable the AI new summary feature for throwing up errors. The brand will need to avoid similar issues in China and that’s where the expertise of Alibaba could come to its fore.
Speaking of AI, Apple is going to bring the iOS 18.4 beta version soon which will get us closer to the new look Siri version that promises conversational upgrades.