| Apple CEO Tim Cook addresses the media next to the company’s new Vision Pro augmented reality glasses at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, on Monday. [Foto/Agencias] |
China’s augmented reality industry is expected to usher in a new stage of growth as Apple Inc announced on Monday that pre-orders for its Vision Pro AR glasses will begin on the Chinese mainland on Friday.
The move came as Apple places greater importance on China, which is not only an important market but also a vital link in its supply chains and a major source of innovation for the US-based technology company, they said. The experts.
But as Apple brings ChatGPT to iPhones in an overhaul of artificial intelligence, it will see growing competition from Chinese rivals that are also doubling down on their AI applications, they added.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Chinese mainland will be among the first group of countries and regions outside the US where consumers will be able to buy Vision Pro locally, and they will be available on June 28. Cook made the comments Monday as he opened Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Cook said the device can allow users to work and collaborate with an infinite virtual canvas for apps, relive cherished memories in a three-dimensional format, and watch TV shows and movies in a one-of-a-kind personal theater.
This month, Chinese internet companies including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, China Mobile and Sina are launching new apps for Vision Pro, including Douyin VR Live, Taobao and Tencent Video, Apple said.
Pan Helin, member of the Information and Communications Economy Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said: “As the world’s largest consumer electronics market and manufacturing base, China has strategic importance to long term for Apple.
Huajin Securities said in a research note that the Chinese mainland and the Taiwan region of China provide a combined 64% of components and assembly services for the Vision Pro, highlighting Apple’s dependence on China’s efficient supply chains.
Cook said in a previous interview with China Daily that “there is no supply chain in the world more critical to Apple than China’s.”
Zhao Siquan, senior analyst at the Chinese branch of market research firm International Data Corp, said that with the official launch of Vision Pro in China, the country’s software developers will create more innovative applications, giving new vitality to the domestic industry. of AR.
China’s AR smart glasses shipments rose more than 150% year-on-year in 2023 to 262,000 units, according to IDC.
At Monday’s event, Apple also announced that it will bring OpenAI’s ChatGPT to a wide range of its products and platforms, including the intelligent virtual assistant Siri. This is part of “Apple Intelligence”, a new personalized artificial intelligence system that aims to offer users a way to more easily navigate Apple devices.
Apple said users of its products will be able to access ChatGPT’s text-based responses, as well as its image and document processing capabilities without the need to switch tools. The English trial version will be available in the fall.
Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, said the move shows Apple’s strengths in ecosystem integration, but investors want to see more.
Due to the need for regulatory approval, some of Apple’s latest AI features may not be available in China for the time being.
Meanwhile, Apple is expected to see growing competition from Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei and Xiaomi in phones with artificial intelligence, experts said.
Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: “Almost all major Chinese phone brands have developed their rival versions of ChatGPT and have shown their progress in integrating AI into phones before Apple.”
(Web editor: 周雨, Rosa Liu)
