Apple held preliminary discussions with Tencent and ByteDance to explore adding their AI capabilities into iPhones sold in China, Reuters reported.
The news agency explained Apple needs to find an in-country generative AI partner as part of a process to win government approval ahead of the public release of iPhones equipped with related features.
As of Q3, the iPhone maker is currently ranked second in market share despite flat shipments, according to smartphone rankings published by IDC. It faces strong competition from Xiaomi and Huawei, among others.
Apple released its iOS 18.2 software that is part of its Apple Intelligence portfolio in December.
That update included a tie-in with OpenAI’s ChatGPT that allows iPhone customers to use the chatbot in tandem with its Siri voice assistant to answer queries or search photos and documents.
Reuters noted ChatGPT isn’t available in China.
