China is forcing Apple Intelligence delays as trade war leverage

Apple Intelligence is available in almost every part of the world, with China the lone exception. But it’s not for lack of effort on Apple’s part. According to a new report, it seems that Chinese regulatory holdups are behind the ongoing AI delays.

Apple and Alibaba’s AI submissions are held up by approval process

Zijing Wu, Cheng Leng, and Michael Acton write at Financial Times:

Apple’s rollout of artificial intelligence services in China with Alibaba is being held up by a Beijing regulator, as the tech partnership becomes the latest casualty of Donald Trump’s trade war.

The tech giants have been working together to launch Apple Intelligence, the iPhone-maker’s suite of AI services, for Chinese users. The system would be supported by Alibaba’s latest models.

Multiple AI products co-developed by the tech companies have been submitted this year to China’s internet authority for approval. But their applications are stalled at the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), two people familiar with the matter said, citing increasing geopolitical uncertainties between China and the US.

The rest of the piece outlines how the current US-China trade war seems central to the delays.

Due to local AI requirements in China, Apple has already had to partner with the China-based Alibaba for collaboration on its AI models.

This necessity is no doubt behind Apple being unable to ship its AI features as soon as it wanted in China, where iPhone sales have seemed to take a hit in the face of stiff competition.

But now, thanks to the ongoing economic uncertainty and desire for trade leverage, it appears Apple Intelligence may be absent in the country in the near-term until trade issues are resolved.

That could certainly put a damper on any big AI announcements coming next week with iOS 26.

Do you think Apple Intelligence’s absence in China will continue hurting iPhone sales? Let us know in the comments.

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