Apple’s first foldable smartphone will feature Alibaba’s AI when it launches in China next week, as Apple Intelligence — the company’s generative suite — gears up for its mainland appearance after years of regulatory delays.
Apple sees AI features as critical to competing with Huawei, the only firm it lags in China. The world’s largest smartphone market has slumped amid weak consumer spending and rising hardware costs. Still, China’s cutthroat industry is seeing new entrants: AI lab StepFun launched a $600 AI agent smartphone Tuesday.
An analyst described the move as “quite bold” under present conditions, but one that might be explained by the smartphone’s unparalleled ability to continually gather user data, allowing AI assistants to become ever-more personalized.
— Brendan Ruberry