Apple has finally set a date for its AI in China, and it is bringing a partner. The first Apple Intelligence features will reach iPhones in China in December with iOS 27.3, and developers can test them in a beta from Wednesday, 4 November, Apple said on Saturday, 31 October, The Next Web reports. The announcement confirms an earlier Bloomberg report and comes about two years after Apple Intelligence launched in the US.
What Chinese users get
- Apple's own models: Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone and with AirPods, Writing Tools, Visual Intelligence, the Clean Up photo tool, Genmoji, and summaries and priority sorting for mail and notifications.
- Alibaba's Qwen inside Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, for broader questions and for asking about a photo or a PDF.
- Devices: iPhone 15 Pro and newer, with the iPhone and Siri set to English or Simplified Chinese.
What China does not get is just as telling. Siri AI, the rebuilt assistant Apple showed at WWDC 2026, and the other newest features "will not be available in China on iOS 27.3," Apple said, according to MacRumors. Image Playground is also left out, and Apple Intelligence will not reach the Mac, iPad or other devices in China until Apple receives the necessary approvals.
More from AI and Tech StakGoogle Opens Free AI Skills Hub for 3 Million AfricansSkilling Africa with Google puts more than 15 Google courses in one free, offline-friendly hub, aiming at 3 million learners by 2030.Generative AI services in China need the regulator's approval. China's internet regulator approved the set-up in July, The Next Web reports, and Apple trained a China-only model with Alibaba's help; the features briefly went live in March before they were approved.
