Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial) CEO Tim Cook recently announced during a visit to Weibo that the company is working diligently to bring its AI assistant, Apple Intelligence, to China. This follows a specific regulatory process which Apple aims to complete soon to offer this service to Chinese consumers. Initially introduced at WWDC 2024, Apple Intelligence leverages generative AI models to provide users with enhanced services. The AI assistant is set for testing in American English, with a localized English version planned for December. Versions in Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish are expected next year.
During a meeting in Beijing, China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Jin Zhuanglong, exchanged views with Tim Cook on Apple's development in China, data security, and cloud services. Jin highlighted China's efforts to open up the telecommunications sector, offering new opportunities for foreign investment. He encouraged Apple to continue investing in the Chinese market and to collaborate with local enterprises for mutual growth.
Cook expressed Apple's intent to seize opportunities in China's open market and to enhance their investments there, supporting the development of high-quality supply chains.
In August, Apple reported its fiscal Q3 2024 earnings, achieving a revenue of $85.777 billion, a 5% year-on-year growth, and a net profit of $21.448 billion, marking an 8% increase. Despite global revenue and profit growth, iPhone sales continued to decline, and Apple's Greater China revenue decreased by 6.5% to $14.728 billion. Notably, Apple fell out of the top five in China's smartphone sales for the first time in Q2, according to Canalys.
Tim Cook noted that while Greater China's sales fell 6.5% year-on-year, the decline was under 3% when adjusted for fixed exchange rates. He also highlighted a record high in the iPhone installation base for the quarter.
In the recent Double 11 shopping festival, Apple offered significant discounts on the new iPhone 16 series, marking the first official price cut for this model since its launch. The discounts include up to 1,600 yuan off on Tmall, with additional trade-in allowances available.
