Apple Intelligence faces obstacles in China.

According to a report by market research firm Canalys, 43% of Chinese consumers expressed high to very high interest in AI-powered smartphones. Of those, 71% were willing to pay extra for AI features, a positive sign for Apple to improve iPhone sales in the future.

However, Apple faces numerous legal challenges before bringing Apple Intelligence to China. Canalys reports that all AI-integrated phones sold in mainland China must use a commercially available , government- approved large language model (LLM). According to CNN, as of March 2024, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) had approved more than 100 AI models from Chinese companies.

According to the WSJ , Apple is urgently seeking a Chinese AI company to replace OpenAI before the iPhone launch in September this year, but has yet to reach an agreement.

ChatGPT is banned in China.

Nabila Popal, a senior director at research firm IDC, emphasized that Chinese consumers would hesitate to spend more than $1,000 on high-end smartphones if they didn't integrate AI. Previously, in January 2024, rival Samsung announced a partnership with Baidu to integrate the Ernie chatbot into its Galaxy S24 series for the Chinese market. However, Baidu's AI performance failed to impress users.

The plan to add AI features to iOS 18 is receiving mixed reactions in China.

Li An, an app development studio executive, praised Apple's AI integration as a major and positive step for iOS app developers in China. He believes the new update will keep iPhone users within the Apple ecosystem.

Conversely, many Chinese people feel disappointed that Apple Intelligence only works on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPads, and Macs equipped with the M1 chip or higher. Meizu co-founder Li Nan expressed his disappointment with Apple Intelligence for its lack of innovation. He felt Apple was simply copying from other companies and integrating existing large language models, while some cheaper Chinese devices also possess similar AI features.

Furthermore, Apple faces fierce competition from domestic smartphone manufacturers. Since the beginning of this year, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Huawei have continuously added AI to their devices to assist users in texting, photo editing, answering calls, and taking notes.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/apple-intelligence-gap-tro-ngai-tai-trung-quoc-185240622195631637.htm