Recent reports indicate that Apple is collaborating with Alibaba to bring its AI platform, "Apple Intelligence," to the Chinese market. Previously, the iPhone maker had considered partnerships with prominent AI startup DeepSeek and ByteDance but ultimately decided against them.

Initially, Apple selected Baidu as its partner for entering the Chinese market, aiming to introduce Apple Intelligence to local users. However, challenges in adapting to Baidu's search model proved insurmountable.

Despite China being a crucial market for Apple, its flagship feature, Apple Intelligence, has yet to launch in this world's largest smartphone market. Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted that the absence of Apple Intelligence contributed to an 11% decline in iPhone sales in China recently. In this context, domestic phone manufacturers like Huawei quickly filled the gap.

This announcement comes as Apple is expected to unveil the fourth-generation iPhone SE, a cost-effective model that has historically been pivotal in driving iPhone sales in China and India, the world's top two smartphone markets.

Prior to this, Apple partnered with OpenAI to launch Apple Intelligence in the US market, enabling Siri to integrate with ChatGPT. Furthermore, Apple stated it remains open to additional collaborations, including potential ties with Google's Gemini project.