Feb 11 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) is partnering with

Alibaba ( BABA ) to roll out artificial intelligence features

for iPhone users in China, the Information reported on Tuesday,

citing one person with direct knowledge of the decision.

The development could clear months of uncertainty over

Apple's ( AAPL ) AI strategy for China, where it has been losing market

share to domestic rivals, including a resurgent Huawei whose

smartphones have included AI tools since last year.

Apple ( AAPL ) stock rose 1.5% in early trading, while U.S.-listed

shares of Alibaba ( BABA ) gained 2.6%.

Apple ( AAPL ) had selected Baidu as its main partner last year, but

the Chinese company's progress in developing models for Apple

Intelligence fell short of its standards, the report said.

After that, Apple ( AAPL ) considered models developed by Tencent ( TCTZF )

, TikTok-parent ByteDance, Alibaba ( BABA ) and Deepseek, but it

passed on Deepseek as the startup's team lacked the manpower and

experience needed to support a large customer, the report said.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Alibaba ( BABA ) did not immediately respond to Reuters

requests for comment.

The companies have submitted the Chinese AI features they

co-developed for approval by China's cyberspace regulator, the

report said.

Rolling out the tools is crucial as iPhone sales dipped in

the holiday quarter - usually Apple's ( AAPL ) biggest period of sales -

due to a lack of AI features that were meant to be the chief

selling point of its latest devices.

The company has forecast strong sales growth in the current

quarter, fanning hopes that iPhone demand will rebound.

The Information said Apple's ( AAPL ) decision to go with Alibaba ( BABA ) was

partly driven by the vast troves of personal data the e-commerce

giant has on users' shopping and payment habits, which could

help it train models and deliver more customized services.