Apple, which has been facing pressure on sales and market share in the competitive Chinese market, is quietly adjusting its artificial intelligence strategy in China. According to insiders, Apple has specifically trained a dedicated large language model for the Chinese market, and this breakthrough was achieved through a deep collaboration with Alibaba, which provided technical support for the core model training.
Before this, it was widely expected that Apple would introduce domestic third-party large models to enable generative AI features on devices like iPhones sold in China. Although Apple adopted a strategy of combining its own technology with overseas large models such as OpenAI and Anthropic in the U.S. market, these foreign AI products were unable to directly enter the Chinese market due to various reasons. This move of collaborating with a local tech giant to develop a dedicated model marks a complete change in Apple's traditional approach.
According to current plans, Apple's full set of AI tools, Apple Intelligence, will officially launch in China with an iOS system update in several months. By developing and adapting a large model to the Chinese context, Apple not only maintains full control over the AI product experience in China but also becomes the first foreign tech company to adopt a dual-track AI deployment strategy in China. Additionally, it will be the first foreign company to obtain domestic regulatory approval and launch its own dedicated large model in China.
