Apple Intelligence in China
Apple says Apple Intelligence and Alibaba's Qwen have China regulatory approval, with a beta due in late October and a wider launch reported for December in iOS 27.3.
Apple Intelligence has been missing from mainland China since it launched elsewhere, because of regulatory approval. The China version uses Alibaba's Qwen and Tongyi Wanxiang models, and Baidu reportedly handles search and some Siri functions. The first batch includes live translation, writing tools and photo cleanup. The redesigned Siri AI assistant is not included.
- Date
- Thursday 15 October 2026
- Lab
- Apple
- Kind
- product
- Access
- research preview
Timing is inconsistent across reports. Global Times quotes Tim Cook (via STAR Market Daily) on a late-October beta, while Bloomberg via TechNode and Benzinga reports a December launch in iOS 27.3. Apple has not confirmed a launch date. The feature lists also differ slightly between sources.
Sources
- globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1372342.shtml
- technode.com/2026/10/15/apple-reportedly-plans-december-china-launch-for-apple-intelligenc
- tradingview.com/news/benzinga:42e4a19c5094b:0-apple-intelligence-reportedly-nears-china-de
This record was checked and corrected against its sources on 15 October 2026. How we check