Apple Intelligence comes to China in December, powered partly by Alibaba's Qwen

Apple will bring its Apple Intelligence features to iPhone users in mainland China in December, with models from Chinese tech giant Alibaba powering some of them.

The features arrive with iOS 27.3. Developers can start testing them in a beta version of the software from Wednesday, November 4, with the public release expected about a month later.

Where Alibaba comes in

Alibaba's Qwen AI models will power selected features in Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, the camera-based tool that lets users ask questions about what they see. Users could, for example, ask about a photo or a PDF.

The Qwen integration is optional, and Alibaba has said it will not use user requests or responses to train its models.

Why Apple needed a partner

Foreign AI models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, which Apple uses elsewhere in the world, cannot operate in China without approval, and Chinese regulations require generative AI services to be registered and comply with content rules. Partnering with a domestic company was the only practical way for Apple to offer AI features there.

A cut-down version

The China release will not include the new, more capable Siri assistant Apple showed at its WWDC developer conference this year, according to reports. iPad and Mac versions are still awaiting approval. Users will need Siri and their device set to English or simplified Chinese.

Why it matters

China is one of Apple's most important markets, both for sales and manufacturing, but the iPhone has faced fierce competition there from domestic brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi, whose phones already offer AI features built on Chinese models. The absence of Apple Intelligence has been seen as a disadvantage in a market where AI features are a major selling point.

For Alibaba, the deal is a showcase for Qwen, which has become one of the world's most widely used families of open AI models. The launch also comes as Apple's new chief executive, John Ternus, insists the company will use AI only where it makes products better.