
Apple Reaches Critical Juncture With Tariffs, AI and Services Turmoil
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Apple is facing one of its toughest periods yet as it copes with the threat of tariffs, supply chain challenges, AI struggles and potential turmoil in its services business. Also: The company's China AI launch will likely be part of iOS 18.6, reorganizations extend to Apple's music and global affairs teams, and flying taxi startup Archer hires a new head of AI.
Last week in Power On: Apple begins breaking up its AI team with changes to Siri and robotics groups.

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Alibaba and Apple team up on local AI models for China
Alibaba's (NYSE:BABA) AI arm just optimized its open-source Qwen3 models for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) MLX framework, a move that likely paves the way for Apple Intelligence to launch in mainland China. On Monday, Alibaba's Qwen team announced on X that Qwen3 is now available in MLX format with four quantization options4-bit, 6-bit, 8-bit and BF16so the models can run locally on iPhones, iPads and Macs. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with BABA. Released on Hugging Face yesterday, the update aligns with reports in the South China Morning Post that Apple needs a home-grown partner to meet Beijing's tight AI regulations before rolling out its Apple Intelligence suitefeatures like Genmoji and Writing Tools that elsewhere rely on OpenAI's GPT. Because any AI models bundled into Apple Intelligence require Chinese regulatory approval, Apple struck a deal with Alibaba to host and vet those models on Chinese soil. China is Apple's single largest market outside the U.S., and localizing intelligence features could boost iPhone, iPad and Mac sales thereespecially as the trade war and data-sovereignty rules complicate direct deployments of Western AI services. Alibaba's update is a clear signal that Apple and its Chinese partner are lining up to meet both user demand and regulatory hurdles. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


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You Can Download the iOS 26 Developer Beta Right Now. Here's How to Get It on Your iPhone
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Viva Tung/CNET Which iPhone models support iOS 26? As long as you own an iPhone 11 or newer, you can download iOS 26. That means the iPhone XR/XS generation is out, while every A13 Bionic handset forward, including the forthcoming iPhone 17 models, are included. Here's the full list of compatible iPhone models that can run iOS 26: Apple Intelligence works only on compatible phones, which include any iPhone 16 model and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. What you need to know before you download the iOS 26 developer beta Before you get too excited and start installing the iOS 26 developer beta, there are a few things you need to do: Check your hardware first. This beta runs only on iPhone 11 and newer . If you want the headline Apple Intelligence features, you'll need an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max or anything in the forthcoming iPhone 17 lineup . This beta runs only on . If you want the headline Apple Intelligence features, you'll need an . Update to the latest public release. 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On your Mac , connect your iPhone, open Finder , select your device, hit Back Up Now > Manage Backups , right-click the new backup and click Archive . On Windows , it's pretty similar. Open iTunes , click Back Up Now, locate the backup in Preferences and archive it. A normal iCloud backup can be overwritten; you need one that can't. On your , connect your iPhone, open , select your device, hit > , right-click the new backup and click . On , it's pretty similar. Open , click Back Up Now, locate the backup in and archive it. Know the escape hatch. If the beta breaks your phone for any reason (this has never happened to me), you'll have to put the phone in Recovery Mode, restore iOS 18.5, and then pull that archived backup back onto the device. Once you've followed these steps, you're pretty much ready to go. How to install the iOS 26 developer beta on your iPhone Apple now lets anyone install developer betas without paying the $99 annual fee. 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Yahoo
4 hours ago
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Alibaba and Apple team up on local AI models for China
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