Apple and Alibaba Team Up to Bring AI to China in December
Apple and Alibaba have announced the integration of Alibaba’s Qwen AI model into Apple Intelligence for users in mainland China. Confirmed by Apple’s China Newsroom on October 31, 2026, the partnership brings Apple’s AI suite to one of its most important markets—nearly two years after its U.S. debut.
The public rollout is scheduled for December with the release of iOS 27.3. Developer beta testing begins on November 4, 2026.
Compatible devices include:
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16
- iPhone Air
- The recently launched iPhone Duo
To use the features, users must set their device location and Apple Account region to China, and set Siri and their phone language to English or Simplified Chinese.
Qwen will power key Apple Intelligence experiences in China, including:
- Siri
- Writing Tools
- Visual Intelligence, which lets users ask questions about photos, documents, and more
The integration replaces ChatGPT, which is used in other regions. Alibaba says user requests and generated responses will not be used to train its model, and users can choose whether to enable the Qwen integration.
China’s internet regulator cleared the arrangement in July 2026, following regulatory filings for several on-device generative AI services, including Apple Intelligence.
Source: CGTN — Alibaba’s Qwen AI model to integrate into Apple Intelligence in landmark partnership