Apple Intelligence Begins Testing in China With Alibaba's Qwen
The iOS 27.3 developer beta brings Apple's AI features to mainland China for the first time, more than two years after their US debut. A public release is set for December.
Apple has started testing Apple Intelligence in mainland China. The features arrived on November 4 (Beijing time) in the iOS 27.3 developer beta, following an announcement on Apple's China newsroom on October 31.
The public rollout is planned for December, when iOS 27.3 ships to everyone. Apple has not given an exact date.
What is included
- Writing Tools and summaries for email and notifications
- Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone, plus in-person translation with supported AirPods
- Visual Intelligence, Clean Up in Photos and Genmoji
In China, Alibaba's Qwen models are integrated as Apple's local AI partner. The next-generation Siri AI shown at WWDC 2026 is not part of this first release.
Which iPhones work
Support covers the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the iPhone 16 lineup and later, the iPhone Air and the iPhone Duo. Siri and the device language need to be set to English or Simplified Chinese.
China is one of Apple's most important markets, and local rivals have offered AI features on their phones for some time, so the launch matters for Apple's sales there.
Sources
This story is based on reporting and official statements from:
Details were accurate when published on November 4, 2026. Found an error? Email [email protected].
