Apple announces launch of Apple Intelligence in China powered by Qwen model

The developer beta of iOS 27.3 with these features will be released on Wednesday, November 4. For all users in China, they will arrive in December alongside the final release of iOS 27.3, though the company did not specify the exact date. The supported devices include the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 and later models, as well as the iPhone Air and iPhone Duo.

As part of the partnership with Alibaba, the Qwen model will power Siri, writing tools, and Visual Intelligence. With its help, Siri will be able to handle queries about photos, PDF files, and presentations, while users will be able to generate text from scratch; this will require a Qwen account or authentication via Sign in with Apple. Other features, including live translation (also via AirPods), Genmoji, the removal of unwanted objects from photos, and notification and email summaries, rely on Apple's proprietary models. The system and Siri must be set to English or Simplified Chinese.

The new Siri AI and other capabilities unveiled at WWDC 2026, as well as Image Playground, are not coming to China yet. On Mac, iPad, and other devices, Apple Intelligence will arrive there only after receiving regulatory approvals, the company clarified.

As Kod.ru reports citing Bloomberg, the launch in the country had been delayed for over a year: Apple initially targeted May 2025, later pushing the timeline to late 2025, and then to the spring of 2026. Approval for the service and the Chinese partner's models was granted on September 29. To secure approval, the companies integrated restrictions, including a filter that allows the authorities to review and approve model updates.