Tim Cook is on tour in China. At first glance it would seem that this is nothing new, that there is nothing special about it. But this is happening at a crucial moment, in the middle of the Cold War. An open geopolitical war, between European and North American organizations, between a weakened Japan and a technologically strengthened China and on the eve of a presidential election, those of the United States, which could completely modify many of the agreements with “external agents”.
And Tim Cook is a political animal: he knows how to dodge issues when it comes to it and knows how to confront head-on the issues that concern him. Since his tour of China, for example, he has been full of praise, planting his flag to the point of national pride: highlighting Apple’s rapid and sustainable growth in a country that is advancing just as quickly.
“Apple is committed to long-term development in China and plans to increase investments in its supply chain, R&D and other areas.” And much more: he will hire 1,000 new employees and open the largest Apple factory in all of Asia, 20,000 square meters filled with high technology.
Apple’s (almost) impossible mission: reclaim the iPhone throne
As we can see on Tim Cook’s Weibo, the equivalent of China’s BlueSky, the Apple CEO returned to Beijing on Monday and has been there ever since. This is his second visit to mainland China this year. And as is obvious, has generated a lot of speculation about the imminent launch of Apple Intelligence in the local market.
And if there’s one thing the Alabama genius is good at, it’s surrounding himself with the right people. Just remember your stay in Madrid. So well, Cook surrounded himself with the famous Chinese photographer and filmmaker Chen Man To talk about the iPhone 16 Pro’s goals, he met with students from China Agricultural University and Zhejiang University at a farm in Beijing’s Shunyi District.
And the next day, he completed the routine exam at an Apple store in central Beijing, where he was greeted with a Vision Pro, although production of the headset had been significantly reduced. And he also attended the opening of the Apple Store number 57. Apple never makes official comments on the CEO’s itinerary, but the best was yet to come.
Apple and the future of AI in China
We have commented on it on other occasions: the Chinese market is crucial for Apple. Historically, China has not only been the assembly location for much of the company’s products, but also its second-largest consumer market. Cook’s current visit appears to be aimed at ensuring that Apple can remain competitive with local Android device makers, like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivowhich have already started implementing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) functions in their latest models.
In a parallel effort, South Korean giant Samsung Electronics announced the integration of Baidu’s artificial intelligence model on your Galaxy S24. Faced with this competition, Apple must act quickly and adapt to local regulations. And that’s what he does.
It is not for nothing that Cook himself emphasized in August, during his financial report, that Apple was “collaborating constructively” with Chinese and European regulators. And it’s true: iOS 18.2 strictly complies with the Digital Markets Act and everything else required by the EU on anti-competition matters.
Chinese consumers demand answers
Tim said of the visit that “we need to understand the regulatory requirements before we can commit to implementing these features.” It’s a sentence charged with electricity. A user, going by the name Gaotongxiaolong, replied, “Do something serious!” You know I’m talking about Apple Intelligence, right? In China, we are asking for courage and Apple is exercising caution. It is the identity of the brand because, at the same time, must negotiate with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Chinese.
The Chinese government has authorized 188 generative AI services this year. It seems that they are quite lax, at least with local manufacturers. But the reality is that the Chinese regulatory framework is more open and Apple wants to take advantage of this situation: Apple Intelligence deployment in China will define the next chapter of its expansion in the country. The battle for AI dominance is playing out in three dimensions.
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