Despite Baidu’s Partnership, Apple Struggles To Launch Apple Intelligence In China Due To Privacy Concerns

Apple is vigorously working towards advancing its Apple Intelligence features and expanding them in more markets. It has faced significant challenges in China due to complicated regulations, technical difficulties, and cultural differences. While China focuses on data localization and makes it mandatory for companies to store user data in the country, Apple places great heed on privacy and on-device processing. To combat this issue, it was working with Baidu, which is huge in China’s AI market, to bring its AI capabilities. Now, the collaboration seems to face a hiccup due to the company’s growing concerns about privacy and control over user data.

Apple’s plans to launch its Apple Intelligence features in China face a new hurdle as clashes with Baidu arise over privacy concerns

While Apple Intelligence is available to users in the U.S. and extends to many other regions, it is still to be established in China. The company has struggled in the country due to the restrictive measures in place that collide with Apple’s core values. Because of this struggle, Apple partnered up with Baidu, a Chinese company that would help bring forth the features in the country.

According to a new report by The Information, the company’s plans to bring Apple Intelligence features this year to China seem to be grim as Apple and Baidu end up in disagreement over privacy and technical concerns. It is said that the news stems from two individuals who are familiar with the ongoing development of the plans and expressed their concerns over the need to resolve the matter promptly if the plan to roll out the features in China is to be carried out.

It is stated that the most significant hurdle lies in Baidu’s persistence in keeping the data of iPhone users when they do any AI-powered searches and Apple’s core philosophy revolving around privacy and minimizing data collection clashing with it. The report also highlights issues with Baidu’s models in understanding iPhone users’ prompts. It claims:

Engineers from Apple and Baidu are racing to adapt Baidu’s large language models so they work well for iPhone users. But the models have struggled to understand prompts and provide accurate responses to common scenarios posed by iPhone users, according to one of the people with direct knowledge of the project.

Apple continues to face strategic and ethical challenges and despite its willingness to adapt to the local expectations, some tensions have erupted in the company’s attempts to bring Apple Intelligence features to China this year.