Apple Intelligence launches in China with Qwen

Apple Intelligence reaches China with iOS 27.3 in December

Apple announced on its mainland China Newsroom on October 31, 2026, that the first Apple Intelligence features are coming to iPhone users in China. Testing starts with the latest iOS developer beta on November 4, and everyone else gets the features with iOS 27.3 in December. iPhone owners in China get 15 features that run on Apple's own models, plus a way to call Alibaba's Qwen from Siri and two other tools.

A developer beta is an early build Apple sends to app developers before a public release, so most people will wait for the December update. Apple has not named a day in December.

The first 15 features run on Apple's own models

Apple keeps its own models and Qwen separate. Translation, summaries and photo tools all run on Apple's generative models, and Qwen only handles a few requests on top of them. Of the 18 first features Apple lists, these 15 remain once the Siri changes and the two Qwen items are set aside:

Live Translation also works with AirPods for face-to-face conversations. The Mail and notification features push urgent items to the top, so they get seen first.

Supported iPhones need English or Simplified Chinese

Apple's footnotes set two conditions, one for the phone and one for the language. These iPhones are supported:

• iPhone 16 and later
• iPhone Duo
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone Air

Siri and the device language must both be set to English or Simplified Chinese. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are left out, and a phone set to any other language will not show the China features.

AirPods have their own list for Live Translation. Apple names four models:

• AirPods 5
• AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation
• AirPods Pro 2 or later
• AirPods Max 2

The AirPods need the latest firmware. They also have to be paired with an iPhone that has Apple Intelligence turned on and the same language settings.

Qwen works in Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence

Qwen (Qianwen in Chinese) is the large language model built by Alibaba. Through a deal with Alibaba, Apple lets Qwen take part in a handful of Apple Intelligence tasks, mainly understanding text and images. Apple keeps Qwen behind three existing tools, so it only answers when one of them hands it a request.

Siri hands some requests, photos and documents to Qwen

In the China version, Siri is one of the three places where Qwen shows up. When a request needs broad knowledge, or concerns a photo, PDF or presentation, Siri can pass it to Qwen for the answer. Apple only says this happens for "certain requests" and does not spell out which ones.

Signing in takes either a Qwen account or Sign in with Apple, the button that uses your Apple Account to sign in to other services. In Writing Tools, a new Compose option asks Qwen to draft text from scratch, and Alibaba adds that Compose with Qwen can write on any topic and make images too.

In Visual Intelligence, Alibaba says an Ask Qwen option identifies what is in front of the camera. Visual Intelligence itself opens from Camera Control, the Action button or Control Center.

Qwen is opt-in, and Alibaba says it won't train on requests

Nothing reaches Qwen unless you turn the integration on, sign in and agree each time something is sent. According to Alibaba's statement, Apple asks for consent before any question, document or image goes to Qwen, and users decide when Qwen is used and what is shared.

Alibaba also says user requests and the replies Qwen generates will not be used to train its models. Apple's announcement does not include that promise, so it rests on Alibaba's word. The Qwen features start on iOS for people who bought a supported iPhone in China, or whose device region and Apple Account country are both set to China.

Siri AI and devices beyond iPhone are not part of the launch

Siri AI is the rebuilt Siri that Apple showed at WWDC 2026. China starts without the Siri AI that other countries now have, and Apple has given no date for iPad, Mac or other devices. Apple says the update leaves out Siri AI and the other next-generation Apple Intelligence features from WWDC 2026.

The December release covers iPhone only. Apple says other platforms will follow once the necessary approvals are in place.

Siri AI added five languages but still skips mainland China

In China, Siri gains Type to Siri and the Qwen link, while the rebuilt Siri AI stays out. The Next Web reports that Siri AI added five languages the same week but still skips mainland China. For the countries that do have it, see Siri AI supported devices and the waitlist steps.

Apple says the China version of Siri understands what you mean even if you stumble over your words, and keeps track of context from one request to the next. Those changes apply to the existing Siri, not to Siri AI.

Regulators cleared the service in July and October

The launch needed two separate sign-offs in China and arrives about two years after the US. Global Times reports that in July, Apple Intelligence was among seven on-device generative AI services that completed regulatory filing in China. In October, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved putting Alibaba's AI models into several Apple handsets, including iPhone Duo.

The Next Web puts the launch about two years after Apple Intelligence first arrived in the US. It adds that in March the features went live for a short time before approval came through.

The same iPhone gets different AI depending on the country

Which AI model your iPhone talks to, and which features it has, now depends on where you are and what language you use. Two owners of the same iPhone model can end up with Siri AI on one phone and Qwen behind Siri on the other, because region and language settings decide it, not the hardware.

So when a new Apple Intelligence feature makes the news, check which countries and languages it covers before looking for it on your own phone. In China, devices beyond iPhone also wait on regulators, and none of them has a date yet.