Apple plans to introduce Apple Intelligence to Chinese customers in December alongside iOS 27.3, following months of discussions over how to deploy the company’s AI tools in the country. A developer beta will be available first, with Alibaba’s Qwen model supporting some of the features.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved the use of Alibaba’s AI models with the iPhone in October 2026. Apple had also received clearance from the Cyberspace Administration of China in July, highlighting the regulatory requirements involved in bringing the service to the market.
The China rollout arrives after strong initial demand for Apple’s latest iPhone models. Counterpoint Research data cited in the source indicates that iPhone sales in China rose 29% year over year during the three weeks after the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro series. Initial supplies sold out within hours.
Chinese users will be able to access Qwen through several Apple Intelligence features, including writing tools, Clean Up in Photos, notification and email summaries, smart replies, Priority Notifications, Visual Intelligence, Live Translation and Text to Siri. Image Playground will not be available.
AI-powered Siri itself is also excluded from the launch and is not expected to receive support in the near term, according to market speculation. Apple has additionally had to allow the Chinese government to approve continuing updates to the AI suite.
Apple and Alibaba say users will retain control over whether a request is sent through Qwen. Alibaba has also said that those requests will not be used to train its models. However, it remains unclear whether requests in Apple’s Chinese AI deployment will be processed through Private Cloud Compute.
The arrival of Apple Intelligence could give the iPhone a further boost in China, even though anticipation of the service had already circulated for months. The launch may renew interest in Apple’s devices after the initial sales surge began to slow.
The rollout also comes as smartphone manufacturers face rising memory and component costs. The source cites a 21% year-over-year decline in sector sales linked to those pressures, while Apple and Samsung have reportedly shown greater resilience than other brands. Against that backdrop, Apple Intelligence could help Apple defend and expand its position in China’s smartphone market.
Sources: Computerworld.