iPhone drops from 1st to 3rd place in China amid AI features battle

The iPhone has lost its crown as the best-selling phone in China, dropping to 3rd place in the latest market intelligence data.One factor is the company’s struggle to launch Apple Intelligence features in the country after being unable to get permission to use its own generative AI model there … Canalys reports that iPhone shipments in China fell by 25% year-on-year in the final quarter of the year.That means Apple’s market share fell from a chart-topping 19% in 2023 to joint-third with Oppo and Honor in 2024, each with a 15% share.

Local brands were able to offer AI features, while Apple has yet to strike a deal to launch Apple Intelligence.The cites this as a key factor in the change of fortunes.As we’ve previously noted, China requires all generative AI models to have government approval in order to maintain its tight stranglehold on sources of online information within the country.

Many existing western platforms are blocked by the Great Firewall of China – including Facebook, X, and Wikipedia – and Google pulled out from the country rather than give in to censorship.The government last month said that launching Apple Intelligence in China would be a “difficult and long process” unless the iPhone maker partners with a local AI company.Working with a Chinese company would instead be “simple and straightforward.” Apple is said to be in talks with Tencent and ByteDance about using their AI models, but it’s been reported that little progress has been made.

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