# Apple Intelligence China: arrives in December with Alibaba's Qwen inside Siri > Apple says 18 AI features reach mainland iPhones with iOS 27.3, testing from 4 November, and two of them hand the work to Alibaba's Qwen model. - Publisher: NextDiff (https://nextdiff.com/) - Section: AI - Author: NextDiff Editorial - Published: 2026-11-01T05:15:48.657Z - Updated: 2026-11-01T05:15:48.657Z - Canonical URL: https://nextdiff.com/posts/apple-intelligence-china-qwen-ios-27-3/ - Topics: apple, iphone, llms, open-models ## In short Apple said on 31 October 2026 that Apple Intelligence will reach iPhones in mainland China with iOS 27.3 in December, after developer testing starts on 4 November. Eighteen features are included. Two of them, Qwen in Siri and Compose in Writing Tools, run on Alibaba's Qwen model. Siri AI from WWDC 2026 is not included. ## Key takeaways - Apple Intelligence comes to mainland China with iOS 27.3 in December; developer testing starts on 4 November. - Apple lists 18 features, and two of them (Qwen in Siri and Compose in Writing Tools) are handled by Alibaba's Qwen model. - Siri AI and the other next-generation features shown at WWDC 2026 are not part of the China rollout. - It needs an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 or later, iPhone Air or iPhone Duo, with Siri and the device set to English or Simplified Chinese. Apple Intelligence is finally coming to China. Apple said on 31 October that its AI features will reach iPhones in mainland China with iOS 27.3 in December, two years after they launched in the US. Developers can start testing from 4 November. The twist: some of the heavy lifting will be done by Alibaba's Qwen model, not by Apple's own models alone ([Apple China Newsroom](https://www.apple.com.cn/newsroom/2026/10/apple-intelligence-features-are-coming-to-users-in-china/)). ![Three iPhones showing Apple Intelligence features in Simplified Chinese: Genmoji, Type to Siri and priority Mail](/media/5c030e3500c24e00994e.jpg) *Image: Apple (press release)* ## What is in the Apple Intelligence China launch? Apple's announcement lists 18 features. Most are the ones iPhone users elsewhere already know: - **Live Translation** in Messages, FaceTime and Phone, and in person with supported AirPods; - **Writing Tools** (rewrite, proofread, summarise) and **Visual Intelligence**; - **Clean Up**, natural-language search and memory movies in Photos, plus **Genmoji**; - **Mail and notification summaries**, Priority Mail, priority notifications, Smart Reply and the Reduce Interruptions focus; - **summaries of recordings and call transcripts**, and **Type to Siri**. The last two items on Apple's list are new and specific to China: **Qwen in Siri** and **Compose** in Writing Tools. ![Chart of the 18 Apple Intelligence features coming to China, two of them powered by Alibaba Qwen](/media/29729a7485544f8e8ef1.jpg) *Chart: NextDiff, from Apple's China Newsroom list (feature names translated)* What is missing matters as much. Apple says this update **does not include Siri AI** or the other next-generation Apple Intelligence features it announced at WWDC 2026. So Chinese users get the 2024–2025 feature set, with Qwen filling the gap that ChatGPT fills in other countries. ## How does Qwen work inside Siri? Think of Siri as a switchboard. Everyday requests (set a timer, summarise this notification, rewrite this email) stay with Apple's own models. When a request needs broad world knowledge, Apple says Siri can hand it to Qwen. You can also ask Qwen about what is in a photo or a document, including PDFs and presentations. Compose works the same way inside Writing Tools: instead of only editing your text, Qwen can write a new draft from scratch. Apple says Qwen also supports text and image understanding in Visual Intelligence. To use the Qwen features, you sign in with a Qwen account or with Sign in with Apple. According to [CGTN](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-10-31/Alibaba-s-Qwen-to-integrate-into-Apple-Intelligence-in-landmark-deal-1RHilSeJsbK/p.html), Alibaba says users choose whether to turn the integration on and what to share, and that it will not use requests or responses to train its models. Apple's own release does not make a privacy statement about Qwen. ![iPhone lock screen with the Type to Siri bar in Simplified Chinese](/media/86d0a0b902954f998b9a.jpg) *Image: Apple (press release)* ## Which iPhones get it? Apple lists the **iPhone 16 and later**, **iPhone Duo**, **iPhone Air**, **iPhone 15 Pro** and **iPhone 15 Pro Max**. Siri and the device language must be set to English or Simplified Chinese. CGTN, citing Alibaba, adds that it applies to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones bought in China, or ones whose device location and Apple Account region are both set to China. Apple says other platforms, such as the iPad and Mac, will follow "after the necessary approvals". ## Why did it take two years? China requires generative AI services to be filed with its internet regulator before launch, and foreign models like ChatGPT are not available there. Apple needed a local partner. Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai confirmed the partnership in February 2025. According to CGTN, citing Xinhua, the Cyberspace Administration of China completed the filing of seven on-device generative AI services for smartphones in July, Apple Intelligence among them. ![Apple Store Pudong cylinder in front of Shanghai IFC](/media/49850ac161db46cab2f4.jpg) *Image: Supanut Arunoprayote, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)* ## Why it matters China is one of Apple's largest markets, and for two years the iPhones sold there have lacked the AI features Apple advertises everywhere else. For Alibaba, being built into Siri puts Qwen, which it also releases as open-weight models, in front of every eligible iPhone user in the country. It also shows Apple's AI strategy more clearly than any keynote. Apple keeps the on-device features and the interface, and plugs in whichever outside model is allowed in each market: ChatGPT in most countries, Qwen in China. If you want the background on how these models work, read our explainer, [What is an LLM?](/posts/what-is-an-llm/), and our look at another Chinese model family, [Kimi K3.1 Pro vs Opus 5.5](/posts/kimi-k3-1-pro-vs-opus-5-5-price-benchmarks-free/). ## What's next - **4 November:** testing starts with the latest iOS developer beta. - **December:** iOS 27.3 ships publicly. Apple has not named a date. - **Later:** other Apple devices, after approval, and possibly Siri AI, which Apple has not promised for China. The open questions: which Siri requests go to Qwen, and how Chinese users will react to an iPhone whose smartest answers come from Alibaba. ## Questions readers ask ### When is Apple Intelligence coming to China? Apple says Apple Intelligence reaches iPhones in mainland China with the public release of iOS 27.3 in December 2026. Developers can start testing it from 4 November. Apple has not given an exact December date. ### Does Apple Intelligence in China use Alibaba's Qwen? Yes, for some features. Apple says Siri can pass certain requests to Alibaba's Qwen, and a new Compose option in Writing Tools uses Qwen to write original text. Qwen also supports text and image understanding in Visual Intelligence. Users sign in with a Qwen account or Sign in with Apple. ### Which iPhones support Apple Intelligence in China? Apple lists the iPhone 16 and later models, iPhone Duo, iPhone Air, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Siri and the device language must be set to English or Simplified Chinese. ### Is Siri AI available in China? No. Apple says this update does not include Siri AI or the other next-generation Apple Intelligence features it announced at WWDC 2026. ## Sources - [Apple China Newsroom — Apple 智能即将登陆中国 (Apple Intelligence is coming to China)](https://www.apple.com.cn/newsroom/2026/10/apple-intelligence-features-are-coming-to-users-in-china/) - [CGTN — Alibaba's Qwen to integrate into Apple Intelligence in landmark deal](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-10-31/Alibaba-s-Qwen-to-integrate-into-Apple-Intelligence-in-landmark-deal-1RHilSeJsbK/p.html) - [The Next Web — Apple confirms its AI features reach China in December, with Qwen](https://thenextweb.com/news/apple-intelligence-china-ios-27-3-alibaba-qwen) - [The Apple Post — Apple confirms Qwen support in China as iOS 27.3 testing begins November 4](https://www.theapplepost.com/2026/10/31/73758/apple-confirms-qwen-support-in-china-as-ios-27-3-beta-arrives-november-4/) - [Wikimedia Commons — Qwen logo (CC0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qwen_logo.svg) - [Wikimedia Commons — Shanghai IFC and Apple Store Pudong (Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghai_IFC_and_Apple_Store_Pudong_20251126.jpg)