Dec 4 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) and Baidu ( BIDU ) are

working to add AI features to iPhones sold in China, but are

facing hurdles that could hurt the tech giant's phone sales in

the country, The Information reported on Wednesday.

The companies, which are adapting Baidu's ( BIDU ) large language

models for iPhone users, are grappling with issues such as the

LLMs' understanding of prompts and accuracy in responding to

common scenarios, according to the report.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Baidu ( BIDU ) did not immediately respond to Reuters'

requests for comment.

Sales of iPhone in China slipped 0.3%, while rival Huawei

posted a 42% surge in sales in the third quarter, research firm

IDC had said in October, as competition intensifies in the

world's largest smartphone market.

Apple's ( AAPL ) long-awaited iPhone 16 launch in September had drawn

scorn in China for its lack of artificial intelligence features.

Also, Apple's ( AAPL ) privacy policies do not allow collection of

data from iPhone users who make AI-related queries, but Baidu ( BIDU )

wants to save and analyze this data, according to the report.

Baidu's ( BIDU ) most advanced model, Ernie 4.0, is being employed as

the foundation for Apple's ( AAPL ) genAI services on the iPhone, Mac and

iPad, The Information said, citing people familiar with the

matter.

Siri will also use Baidu's ( BIDU ) AI models, according to the

report.