Apple and Baidu are collaborating to integrate AI features into iPhones sold in China but face challenges that could impact Apple’s phone sales in the country, The Information reported on Wednesday.
The companies are adapting Baidu’s large language models (LLMs) for iPhone users but are struggling with issues like the LLMs’ ability to understand prompts and provide accurate responses.
iPhone sales in China fell by 0.3% in the third quarter, while Huawei’s sales surged by 42%, according to research firm IDC in October, reflecting growing competition in the Chinese smartphone market. Apple’s iPhone 16 launch in September received criticism in China for lacking artificial intelligence features.
Privacy concerns also pose a challenge, as Apple does not allow the collection of data from users who make AI-related queries, while Baidu seeks to save and analyze this data, the report noted. Baidu’s Ernie 4.0 model is being used as the basis for Apple’s generative AI services across iPhone, Mac, and iPad devices, according to sources cited by The Information.
Additionally, Siri is set to use Baidu’s AI models as part of this collaboration, the report added.
