China – Apple China, in collaboration with TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai, has launched a new privacy campaign bringing back comedian Yue Yun Peng for a second consecutive year to illustrate iPhone’s privacy features through everyday situations.

The campaign builds on last year’s “Let’s Talk Privacy” series with three comedic films — ‘Tiger’s Oil’, ‘Garbage Day’, and ‘Lock Master’ — again directed by Zhang Da Peng and headlined by Yue.

In each spot, Yue is placed in familiar scenarios that highlight common privacy concerns, with the iPhone’s built-in tools offered as solutions. In Tiger’s Oil, a child inadvertently reveals an embarrassing chat exchange after accessing Yue’s phone. An Apple specialist character guides Yue on how to use Face ID to lock or hide apps to prevent similar incidents.

Garbage Day sees Yue chasing down a recycling bike after misplacing a notebook filled with passwords. The scene transitions to a demonstration of the iPhone’s Passwords app, which uses Face ID to manage credentials securely in one place.

In the final spot, Lock Master, Yue explores how Face ID can be used not only to unlock the device but also to secure individual apps, with biometric authentication highlighted as a key feature.

Beyond the main videos, the campaign includes supplementary social content that offers practical privacy advice, along with behind-the-scenes clips featuring light-hearted exchanges between Yue and director Zhang. Yue also appears for the first time on Apple’s privacy-themed billboards in China, offering a more visible and personable face to the campaign.

The rollout, timed with the 618 Shopping Festival, comes as data privacy becomes a growing focus among tech brands in China. While several companies are building up their privacy credentials, Apple’s campaign underscores its continued emphasis on integrating user-friendly privacy tools into its devices.

India – Truecaller, the global caller ID and call-blocking app, has launched a new campaign celebrating its long-awaited arrival on iPhone, capturing the joy and relief of accurately identified calls.

Conceptualised by Talented and produced by Potli Baba Mediahouse, the campaign features Bollywood veterans Deepak Tijori and Sheeba Chaddha dancing with joy as Truecaller finally arrives on iPhone.

The campaign captures the spirit of ‘dance like no one’s watching,’ illustrating how Truecaller’s Live Caller ID lookup enhances caller identification and security for iPhone users.

Speaking about the films, Ashwani Sinha, vice president for global brand at Truecaller, said, “The films try to capture a moment of undiluted jubilation that one may experience when something were to happen after a long, long wait. Now that Truecaller finally works as effectively on iPhones as it does on Android, we decided to celebrate and share our ‘mic drop’ moment with iPhone users in a mutually relatable manner! ”

Binaifer Dulani & Prashant Gopalakrishnan, founding partners at Talented, added, “When every call is no longer a guessing game, but instead a moment of clarity, you can finally enjoy your ringtone again. In a film without dialogue, conscious elements like body language, music, choreography, and sets work harder. With Truecaller finally arriving for iPhone users, this marks a monumental milestone in Truecaller’s India journey.”

China – Apple and Alibaba Group are reportedly forming a partnership that will integrate Alibaba’s artificial intelligence technology into iPhone services in China.

Alibaba Group chairman Joe Tsai announced the partnership during an interview with Jeffrey Katzenberg at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Bloomberg reported.

The report states that Alibaba’s technology will power the iPhone’s AI services in China.

“Apple has been very selective, they talked to a number of companies in China, and in the end they chose to do business with us; they want to use our AI to power their phones,” Tsai made the remark in the interview, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Tsai further explained that Apple has yet to roll out its full suite of AI features in China due to regulations that require the company to partner with a locally accredited firm.

In a separate report, Reuters highlighted that Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged as much as 9.2% to HK$124.3, their highest level since January 2022. The stock later pared its gains, closing up 2.6%.

According to Reuters, the landmark deal puts an end to months of speculation about Apple’s AI strategy in the region, as the iPhone maker had been in talks with Chinese tech giants such as Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent.

It remains unclear whether Apple’s partnership with Alibaba will follow a similar model to that of iPhones outside China, which use a combination of Apple’s proprietary AI and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

This partnership is seen as a significant win for Alibaba, which is currently competing with major domestic rivals in China’s highly competitive AI market. It is worth noting that Alibaba has recently intensified its efforts in the AI race with the release of its Qwen 2.5 models, which the company claims can rival the leading open-source AI models available.

Shanghai, China – Apple has partnered with TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai to launch its latest 2024 Chinese New Year film titled ‘Little Garlic’ that shows the importance of embracing and being proud of one’s self.

The digital film, shot with an iPhone, addresses the insecurity felt by many Gen Zs in China. It tells the story of a young girl, Wei, battling with her insecurities and how she overcame them with the help of her grandfather’s wisdom and love.

With this film, Apple welcomes the year of the dragon through a poignant yet timely message that there is nothing wrong with being ‘just yourself’ and that you are unique in your own way.

Apple’s CNY film tackles the importance of accepting one’s self and to reflect on the meaning of being ‘perfect’.

The film also highlights Apple’s iPhone’s features that were used to bring the film to life.

‘Little Garlic’ will appear on broadcast, digital, and social media platforms.

Apple’s new CNY film comes after the launch of its ‘Relax, It’s iPhone’ campaign in Vietnam, which featured a ‘Shot on iPhone’ music video. This is Apple’s seventh year of celebrating Chinese New Year with a digital film shot by their iPhone.