Apple CEO Tim Cook is heading to Shanghai, CNBC reports. The visit comes after a drop in iPhone sales in China and the imminent opening of a new Apple store in the Middle Kingdom.
Cook announced the visit in a post on his official Weibo account on Wednesday, he said. The post also included a video showing Cook walking through a tourist area in Shanghai. Also on display is Cook's breakfast with Chinese actor and TV host Zheng Kai.
The new Apple store is scheduled to open this week
According to Chinese media reports, the new Apple store in Jing'an will open its doors on Thursday. For Cook, the visits are to China, an important market and place of Apple production, It is not a rarity. In the past, she has frequently traveled to the country to launch products, open factories and meet with local officials. Earlier this month, Apple announced plans to expand its research centers in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Chinese iPhone sales fall 24 percent
What's particularly noteworthy about Cook's current journey is that Apple has recently recorded a sharp drop in iPhone sales in China. In the first six weeks of the current year, numbers fell 24 percent compared to the same period last year, according to CNBC.
Some analysts attribute this decline to an unusually high shipment rate from Apple in early 2023, as well as increasing competition from local brands like Huawei. Apple has to do something to counteract this market pressure.
Apple is negotiating the use of Google AI in iPhones
Regardless of the decisions Tim Cook makes during and after his visit to China: Apple has to adapt the iPhone, its main revenue generator, to the age of AI.
According to a report from CNBC, Apple is currently negotiating with Google. Apple is apparently interested in Google's Gemini AI tool and could use it to update the iPhone. According to experts, the tool could be integrated into the iPhone this year.
Apple to pay $490 million to settle class action lawsuit
Apple is currently fighting on several fronts. The company recently agreed to pay $490 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. Shareholders accuse Tim Cook of misleading investors about the sharp drop in iPhone sales in China in November 2018. Cook presented the numbers too positively in his statement at the time.
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