Xiaomi aims to take on Apple with first in-house smartphone chip
TAIPEI -- China's top smartphone maker Xiaomi on Thursday introduced its first self-developed smartphone chipset, produced with the same cutting-edge technology that Apple uses, as the handset maker continues working to upgrade its offerings amid growing Washington-Beijing tensions.
The Xring O1 smartphone system-on-chip (SoC) was designed to be manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s 3-nanometer chip production technology, currently the most advanced in the world. In addition to Apple, leading mobile chip developers MediaTek and Qualcomm use TSMC's 3-nm tech for their chips.
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Japan Times
19 hours ago
- Japan Times
Can Apple salvage the AI iPhone in China?
If you thought Apple's artificial intelligence woes in the U.S. were bad, just know that they could actually be worse. Look at China. The AI iPhone features haven't even arrived on the mainland. And those holding their breath for an update at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference were again let down. Despite earlier reports that Apple Intelligence could launch in the country — where demand for AI is among the highest in the world — in May, the lack of a fresh announcement isn't a total shock. The rollout has long been dodged by outsized regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Pacific. Last week, the Financial Times reported that Apple's partnership with Alibaba Group Holding to bring its AI services to China was being further stalled by a Beijing regulator in the midst of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Apple can't catch a break here. But there are reasons to hold onto hope that the service can still be salvaged, even if the window of opportunity for Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is rapidly closing. Apple's popularity in China has undoubtedly waned amid the rise of domestic rivals such as the premium smartphone offerings from Huawei Technologies Just 21% of consumers picked it as their top choice for their next phone, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence survey released this week, compared to 29% a year ago. And perhaps more concerningly for Cook is that the marquee smartphone is losing its allure even for existing customers: 62% of iPhone users in China said they are planning on sticking with the brand, versus 81% a year earlier. But the data also reveal a bigger story. It's not just Apple losing its appeal. The popularity of homegrown titan Huawei's smartphones fell by a much larger share than Apple, with consumers across the board putting off replacing their existing phones for longer. While the West has been focused on Apple's problems in China, this is also about the pain of domestic consumers, who are holding back on spending due to deflationary pressures and macroeconomic uncertainty. As Beijing works to turn this around, it could buy much-needed time for the iPhone maker's eventual launch of an AI smartphone to a more hospitable consumer environment. Of course, the biggest hurdle is obtaining regulatory approval in Beijing. The more Cook can lean on local partner Alibaba to speed up this process and portray it to Chinese authorities as a joint win, the better chance of success. While this collaboration has already ruffled feathers in Washington, Apple should emphasize that it would still maintain control over the hardware, while its presence in China slows the global rise of firms like Huawei, which has long been a target for U.S. lawmakers. The company has been typically hush-hush about the scope of its partnership with Alibaba. But there are reasons to be bullish — perhaps even more so than for its U.S. alliance with OpenAI — that this collaboration can revitalize its AI ambitions, at least in China. While Apple's in-house efforts have sputtered, Alibaba's major investments into the technology have propelled it to be a top global player. Even Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang last month called its Qwen offerings "among the best open-source AI models' as he touted the benefits of having it run on American hardware. Their open-source nature also means that developers can continuously optimize the Qwen models, as well as download them to run on their own servers, mitigating some of the national security concerns Washington associates with Chinese technology. Still, relying on Alibaba to do the heavy lifting in AI development would be very un-Apple-like, given its history of seeking to maintain as much control as possible. But the company must find a way to adapt. And the more AI becomes commoditized in China, having a local partner has the benefit of outsourcing some of the expensive legwork. This would also allow it to focus resources on gaining an edge in the next-generation of AI consumer devices. This area is still in its infancy, giving Apple a fighting chance to catch up and do what it does best: Release perfected versions of devices launched prematurely by competitors. The consequences of falling further behind here threatens its global hardware dominance. Much of the recent discourse on Apple's relationship with China has centered around risks from the company's reliance on the country as a manufacturing mothership. But when it comes to tapping into the consumer base, this is also an asset, proof to Beijing that it isn't just a foreign firm exploiting the market, but a partner supporting millions of jobs. It remains to be seen how tenable this precarious position is for Cook. But he's spent decades buying time and playing both sides. For Apple's sake, let's hope there are more decades to go. Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Apple plays it safe on AI despite Wall Street pressure
By Glenn CHAPMAN and Alex PIGMAN Apple on Monday remained on its cautious path to embracing generative AI even as rivals race ahead with the technology and Wall Street expresses doubts over its strategy. The pressure was on Apple not to disappoint at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) a year after the iPhone juggernaut made a promise it failed to keep -- to improve its Siri voice assistant with generative AI. The annual WWDC is addressed to developers who build apps and tools to run on the company's products. Despite last year's disappointment, Apple insisted on Monday it was still very much in the AI race, announcing incremental updates to its Apple Intelligence software, including the ability for app makers to directly access a device's AI capabilities. This would allow users to engage with apps using generative AI while offline, letting them interact ChatGPT-style with a hiking app, for example, while in remote areas without a connection. Apple CEO Tim Cook briefly mentioned that Siri's AI makeover was still under development and "needed more time to meet our high quality bar," which includes Apple's standards on privacy and data security. "We are making progress, and we look forward to getting these features into customers' hands," he added. For Gadjo Sevilla, senior analyst for Emarketer, "the delays to Apple's in-house AI efforts will continue to draw scrutiny." "Especially since rivals like Google and Samsung are moving ahead by introducing new on-device AI capabilities, or partnering with AI startups like Perplexity (in Samsung's case) to provide users with AI features," he added. The biggest announcement at the event was the renaming of Apple's operating systems so that releases better match their release year. The next operating system will be iOS 26 and will be available across all of Apple's devices -- including the Mac, Watch and Vision Pro headset -- in the fall, in time for the likely release of the next iPhone 17. Today, Apple's operating systems have vastly different nomenclatures across devices, including the current iOS 18 for the iPhone or macOS 15 for Mac computers. Apple also announced that the new operating system will be the first major iOS redesign since 2013, calling the new look "Liquid Glass." The relationship between Apple and app-making developers has been strained in recent years, with developers chafing at the iPhone maker's high fees for getting access to the App Store. A marathon lawsuit by Fortnite maker Epic Games ended with Apple being ordered to allow outside payment systems to be used in the U.S. App Store. Adding to doubts about Apple's direction is the fact that the legendary designer behind the iPhone, Jony Ive, has joined with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to create a potential rival device for engaging with AI. Apple also has to deal with tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in his trade war with China, a key market for sales growth and the place where most iPhones are manufactured. Trump has also threatened to hit Apple with tariffs if iPhone production wasn't moved to the US, a change which analysts say would be impossible given the costs and capabilities required. Wall Street analysts remain divided on Apple's prospects, with the stock down about 17 percent since the start of the year, wiping over $600 billion from its market value and far outshone by its Big Tech rivals. While some analysts remain optimistic about Apple's long-term AI monetization potential, others worry the company's cautious approach may prove costly in the longer term. WWDC "was void of any major Apple Intelligence progress as Cupertino is playing it safe and close to the vest after the missteps last year," said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. "We have a high level of confidence Apple can get this right, but they have a tight window to figure this out," he added. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a 'mobile security crisis'
FILE - A child holds an iPhone at an Apple store on Sept. 25, 2015 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) By DAVID KLEPPER Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash — it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism. The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user. The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past. Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in U.S. cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts. It shows how vulnerable mobile devices and apps are and the risk that security failures could expose sensitive information or leave American interests open to cyberattack, those experts say. 'The world is in a mobile security crisis right now,' said Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity expert at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify. 'No one is watching the phones.' U.S. authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. 'They were able to listen in on phone calls in real time and able to read text messages,' said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the U.S. of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. 'The U.S. has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets,' Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. U.S. intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to U.S. economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. Mobile networks are a top concern. The U.S. and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the U.S. — a growing concern to lawmakers. 'The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,' U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their U.S. operations. Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles' connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a 'cyber trust mark' for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. 'They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls,' said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University. 'They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms,' Williams said. "We just can't share things willy-nilly.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
