Leaked Details Show iPhones in China Might Get Local AI

After tech giant Apple started adding ChatGPT features to its devices in December, it now appears that Apple's devices in China will receive local artificial intelligence (AI).

Three sources "familiar with the matter" leaked confidential information to Reuters, stating that the US tech giant is in talks with Chinese tech giants such as Tencent and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. Per the report, the companies are discussing possibilities of integrating Tencent's and ByteDance's AI models into iPhones sold in China, as OpenAI's ChatGPT is not available in this major market. If talks are successful, this might help Apple fight back as its market share in China is declining, while competitors such as Huawei are launching smartphones with their proprietary language models.

However, the undisclosed sources claim that the talks are at a very early stage. None of the above-mentioned companies commented on the matter.

Previously, also unconfirmed reports indicated that Apple discussed integrating an AI model developed by the Chinese internet giant Baidu, but talks failed due to unspecified technical issues.

In December, Apple integrated ChatGPT with its digital assistant Siri, available on iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. OpenAI's GPT-4 model is now automatically used when users ask Siri more complicated questions. However, users are asked for permission to access ChatGPT. There's no need to have an OpenAI account to use this service.

According to Apple, Siri can also tap into ChatGPT when questions about photos and documents are asked, and this AI module can compose text or images from just a description. It also allows users to learn more about the places and objects around them.

With a ChatGPT paid account, iPhone users can also use advanced ChatGPT capabilities more frequently.

This extension is available with Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.2 or later on all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

In October, Apple released Apple Intelligence, its artificial intelligence system, and is planning to update it next year.