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Apple announced on October 30 that it will bring a first set of Apple Intelligence features to China with iOS 27.3. Testing begins on November 4 in a developer beta, and the public release is planned for December. The launch uses Alibaba's Qwen model for some requests and leaves out Siri AI.
The details come from a press release on Apple's Chinese newsroom site, as reported by MacRumors and The Verge.
Key facts
- Beta: Apple lists November 4 in China, which MacRumors says likely means November 3 in the U.S. because of time zones.
- Public release: December with iOS 27.3, with no specific date given.
- Devices: iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16 and later, iPhone Air and iPhone Duo, per 9to5Mac.
- Language: both Siri and the device must be set to English or Simplified Chinese.
- Not included: Siri AI, features announced at WWDC 2026, and Image Playground.
What is included
The initial set covers Writing Tools, Genmoji, Clean Up in Photos, notification summaries, priority notifications, Visual Intelligence and Live Translation. 9to5Mac lists translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone, plus natural-language photo search and Smart Reply. Users also get Type to Siri.
Apple says it partnered with Alibaba so users can reach Qwen from Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence. According to 9to5Mac, that lets people ask about photos and documents, including PDFs and presentations, and generate original text. Access works by signing into a Qwen account or using Sign in with Apple. The Verge compares the arrangement to the ChatGPT integration that launched in 2024.
The Next Web reports that the features run on Apple's own models and that China's internet regulator cleared the setup in July. It also says Apple trained a China-only model with Alibaba's help. The Verge cites a Reuters report from August that Apple trained its own LLM specifically for China.
Why it matters
The launch ends a long wait in one of Apple's largest markets. 9to5Mac traces the path: a Reuters report in mid-July that a regulatory hurdle had been cleared, then a Bloomberg report that a December launch was planned, then a report from state-backed outlet The Paper that Tim Cook had confirmed approval.
The feature gap is notable. Siri AI recently expanded to more languages elsewhere, yet it stays unavailable in mainland China. Apple's China lineup will therefore lag its global one at launch.
The release is also limited to the iPhone. Apple said Mac, iPad and other devices will get the features only after it receives the necessary approvals.
