Apple’s efforts to introduce Apple Intelligence to the Chinese market are encountering significant obstacles due to the country’s stringent regulatory requirements, theFinancial Times is reporting.
A senior official from China’s Cyberspace Administration has indicated that foreign companies will face a “lengthy and difficult” approval process unless they partner with local firms.
Apple has been in discussions with Chinese tech giants, including Baidu, ByteDance, and Moonshot, to explore collaborations that would enable the deployment of generative AI features on devices sold in China.
However, operating independent large language models (LLMs) in the region appears to be off the table unless stringent government approvals are met. Partnering with Chinese companies already vetted for their LLMs would provide a faster route to market.
The approval process for offering generative AI in China involves rigorous government testing, making it challenging for Apple to use its own models. The complexity has reportedly delayed the expected rollout of AI capabilities in China until at least the second half of 2025.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, during his third visit to China this year, emphasized the company’s commitment to bringing AI features to Chinese consumers. Cook acknowledged the complexities of the regulatory process but expressed hope for a resolution.
Globally, Apple has enhanced its devices with AI-powered features, such as advanced Siri capabilities, photo editing, and on-device generative AI tools. These updates have been designed to encourage users to upgrade to newer devices. In China, however, these features are not yet available.
Compounding these challenges is a decline in Apple’s sales in China, a market that accounted for 17% of its revenue in the past fiscal year but saw an 8% year-over-year drop.
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Any partnering with Chinese companies means giving that tech to China while they are racing to advance AI for their military.
A few years back Google funded and setup AI research at Chinese universities that were run by the PLA. This was back when China was tying to bootstrap their AI research for military purposes and Google was right in there (claiming it was civilian). Of course, this was at the same time their lefty staff pressured the execs to drop all work with the US military but had no problem aiding the PRC.
This is when Cook needs to grow a pair and walk away from China. The money isn’t worth it.