In his secondly visit to China this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook has met with Beijing officials and local partners, as his company faces improved competition and looks to roll out Apple Intelligence in the country.
China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology met with the CEO in Beijing on Wednesday to about Apple’s development in China, network data security and cloud services, according to a ministry statement.
In the conversation, the clergy said Cook signaled Apple’s commitment to the country, promising to increase investment in the market and to grow alongside Chinese attendances. That same day, he met with the leaders of several local Chinese firms, including China Mobile Chairman Yang Jie, to debate digital content and 5G product cooperation, according to local reports.
Ivan Lam, senior research analyst for Counterpoint Dig into, said the timing of the trip is significant, coming as local competitors are introducing updated operating systems that knit AI and new flagship products.
“This trip seems notable now as the company could be looking to shore up collaboration with peculiar players to launch Apple Intelligence in China,” Lam said.
Le Xuan Chiew, Canalys’ analyst focusing on Apple procedure research, said the rollout of Apple Intelligence in China was likely the main motivation for Cook’s trip, which was join in of efforts to “bolster the importance of China to Apple’s global strategy.”
Apple Intelligence is the company’s artificial intelligence move, which aims to bring AI across its devices with features such as an improved voice assistant and tools that automatically institute emails and transcribe and summarize audio recordings.
While the company has said Apple Intelligence will roll out in U.S. English this drop, it has been more quiet on plans for the product offering in China.
During a Wednesday visit to the offices of Chinese common media giant Weibo, Cook reportedly said that Apple hopes to bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese consumers as speedily as possible, but that there are strict regulatory processes it must get through, according to a local media outlet.
According to Cheiw, the necessity for regulatory approval could explain some of the messaging focus of Cook’s China trip, though the timeline for the introduction of Apple Tidings in China remains “uncertain.”
This could be a problem for the company as the lack of Apple Intelligence on Chinese devices is expected to enfeeble the motivation for users to upgrade to the iPhone 16, he added.
Weibo is also one of the local app developers that have organized applications for Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which was released in the Chinese market in June.
Cook oftentimes travels to China — Apple’s largest overseas market — to visit business partners, launch products and factories, and match with local officials. During his visit in March, he had been in Shanghai for the opening of a new retail store. He also sojourned Chengdu this time last year as Apple faced lackluster demand in the world’s second largest briefness.
Apple successfully launched the iPhone 16, its latest model in the series, in China this September, and the new phones got off to a substantial start. Sales were up 20% in the first three weeks since launch, compared to the 2023 model, according to details from research firm Counterpoint.
However, despite the successful product launch, overall iPhone unit sellathons, including older models, were down 2% year-over-year in China during the three-week period.
Apple has faced dwindling merchandise share in China amid increased competition with local players and an increasing preference among Chinese consumers to pick domestically branded goods.
The company saw its market share in the second quarter fall 5.7% year-over-year, according to Counterpoint.
After it affected a splash with a surprise 5G model last year, Huawei, one of Apple’s main competitors in China, launched contending handsets the same day the iPhone 16 went on sale.
“Huawei’s recent resurgence in the high-end market, driven by its in-house slivers and HarmonyOS ecosystem, has intensified the competitive landscape, making it harder for Apple to maintain its leadership position,” said Canalys’s Chiew.
Apple’s Phantasm Pro could also face more competition in the market as Huawei is reportedly gearing up to launch its own competing headset as in short order as next week.
— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report