Information on AI smartphone use from China has shown the significant battle Apple will have on its hands when Apple Intelligence eventually launches there, and how longer delays will see it lose market share in a fiercely competitive space. Huawei currently controls 34.8% of the AI smartphone market in China, while Xiaomi has 26.9% according to new data, giving the mobile giants a massive 61.7% share together, dwarfing the next player in the space, Vivo, with 11.6%.
To release generative AI products in China, Apple requires government approval, and it must apparently provide a large amount of information on how its AI works to get it, from how its systems are trained to passing security assessments. Apple Intelligence uses contributions from ChatGPT, and OpenAI has blocked access to its software from China, creating further issues.