Apple Intelligence comes to China in December with Alibaba’s Qwen

iOS 27.3 brings the first Apple Intelligence features to Chinese iPhones, with Qwen inside Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence.

Apple announced on October 31, 2026 that the first Apple Intelligence features will reach iPhone users in China with iOS 27.3 in December, after a developer beta from November 4. Alibaba’s Qwen model will work inside Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, making it the main outside model for Apple’s AI in the country.

Key facts

Apple announced on October 31, 2026 that Apple Intelligence is coming to users in China.
Developers can test the first features in the latest iOS beta from November 4; the public release arrives with iOS 27.3 in December.
Alibaba’s Qwen model can be used in Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, for text and image understanding.
Supported phones include the iPhone 16 family and later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone Air, with the device and Siri language set to English or Simplified Chinese.
Siri AI and the other next generation features shown at WWDC 2026 are not part of this first release.

What happened

Apple published the announcement on its China newsroom on Saturday, October 31. The first wave is a long list of features that people elsewhere already know: Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone (and face to face through supported AirPods), Writing Tools for rewriting, proofreading and summarizing, Visual Intelligence through the camera, Clean Up and natural language search in Photos, Genmoji, Priority Mail and email summaries, Smart Replies, notification summaries, and summaries of call transcripts and audio recordings in Notes. Siri also gets type to Siri, which keeps context across a conversation.

The big difference is the partner model. Apple says it worked with Alibaba to add Qwen to parts of Apple Intelligence. Siri can draw on Qwen’s knowledge for some requests, and people can ask questions about photos and documents, including PDFs and presentations. Access needs a Qwen account or Sign in with Apple.

Alibaba confirmed the deal the same day. CGTN, citing Xinhua, reports that CEO Eddie Wu said Qwen will work with Apple to bring new AI services to Chinese users. Alibaba also says it will not use user requests or generated answers to train its models. CGTN adds that China’s cyberspace regulator completed the filing for seven on device generative AI services for smartphones in July, Apple Intelligence among them.

Why it matters

Apple first unveiled Apple Intelligence at its Worldwide Developers Conference in 2024, and iPhone buyers in mainland China have been without it since. For them, December finally brings summaries, translation and writing help in their own language, on the phones many already own.

For the wider AI world, the partnership is a signal. CGTN quotes Wang Xiaojie of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, who calls it the first time a top global hardware maker has used a Chinese large model as its main system level AI in China. Apple keeps its own models for most features and plugs in a local partner where rules and language call for it, a pattern other phone makers may copy.

There are limits worth knowing. The newest Siri AI is missing, Qwen features are opt in and tied to an account, and Apple says other platforms will follow only after the necessary approvals.

How to try it

If you have an eligible iPhone in China, the features arrive with iOS 27.3 in December; developers can install the beta from November 4. Your Apple Account country and device location both need to be set to China, according to CGTN.

Wherever you live, you can try the same kind of help that Writing Tools gives, with any chatbot. Our free Rewrite clearer prompt takes a confusing paragraph or email and makes it shorter and clearer while keeping your meaning. Fill in the fields like this:

Text to rewrite: “Hi all, following on from what we discussed, it might be good if we could possibly look at moving the launch, as there are some things on the supplier side that are not totally finished yet.”
Who will read it: “My team and our product manager”
Tone: “Warm and direct”

Check three things in the answer: that your meaning did not change, that dates and names are still correct, and that the list of changes explains what was cut and why. If the rewrite drops a detail you need, put it back before you send it.

Try it

Rewrite text more clearly

Frequently asked questions

When does Apple Intelligence launch in China?

Apple says the first features reach Chinese users with iOS 27.3 in December 2026. Developers can test them in the latest iOS beta from November 4. Support for other platforms will come later, after the necessary approvals.

Which iPhones get Apple Intelligence in China?

Apple lists the iPhone 16 family and later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone Air. The device and Siri language must be set to English or Simplified Chinese. Live Translation through AirPods also needs a supported AirPods model with current firmware.

Does Alibaba use my Siri requests to train Qwen?

Alibaba says it will not use user requests or generated responses for model training, CGTN reports. Qwen features are optional: you choose whether to turn them on, and they need a Qwen account or Sign in with Apple.

Sources