Apple selected Baidu as its main partner last year, but the company's progress in developing models fell short of its standards, the report said.

Apple has reportedly partnered with Alibaba to bring AI features to the iPhone in China iPhone sales have slipped in China due to a lack of AI features Alibaba’s vast consumer data and AI expertise make it an ideal partner for Apple's plans for China DeepSeek has been at the center of frenzied interest in Chinese AI developers;

Alibaba Group’s stock surged up to 8.6% following reports about Apple linking up with the e-commerce giant to roll out AI features for iPhone users in China. For Alibaba, securing a deal with Apple is no less than a breakthrough.