Apple Intelligence reaches China in December via Alibaba

In China, Apple Intelligence will run on Alibaba's Qwen inside Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, not the Google Gemini models used in the West. Supported iPhones are iPhone 16 models and later, iPhone Duo, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone Air.

Apple confirmed on 31 October 2026 that Apple Intelligence will open for testing in China from 4 November, in the latest iOS developer beta, and launch publicly with iOS 27.3 in December. Users connect by signing in to a Qwen account or with Sign in with Apple. Reports say permission is sought before data goes to Qwen, and requests are not used for training.

What changed: from report to confirmation

A 14 October report put forward the December plan; Tim Cook's 15 October remarks had pointed to testing later in October. The confirmed test date is now 4 November. Chinese regulators approved Alibaba's AI models; 29 September permits listed Qwen and Tongyi Wanxiang for recent iPhones. Apple's 31 October confirmation turns a reported plan into a dated launch.

Date	Development
29 September	Permits listed Qwen, Tongyi Wanxiang
14 October	December plan reported
15 October	Cook's remarks pointed to testing later in October
31 October	Apple confirmed the launch
4 November	Testing opens in the iOS developer beta
December	Public launch with iOS 27.3

Who gets it, and what is missing

Supported devices are iPhone 16 models and later, iPhone Duo, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone Air. The launch does not include Siri AI or other next-generation features announced at WWDC 2026.

First-batch features reported, about 18, include Live Translation, Writing Tools, Visual Intelligence, Clean Up in Photos, Genmoji, notification summaries, Type to Siri and Priority Messages. These are reported features, not confirmed line by line by Apple in the material available here.

Glossary

• Qwen: Alibaba's AI model family, powering Apple Intelligence in China instead of the Google Gemini models used in the West.
• iOS 27.3: Slated for the public China launch in December.
• Siri AI: Next-generation Siri features announced at WWDC 2026, not part of this China launch.

One point rests only on reporting, not on Apple: the China setup is said to include guardrails developed with Alibaba, including a filter allowing the government to approve ongoing model updates.

Testing opens on 4 November in the developer beta, with the public launch following in December. What to watch is whether December keeps the reported first-batch features intact, and when Siri AI reaches China.

📷 Photo credit: Jakub CA, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)