Apple confirmed on October 31, 2026 that Apple Intelligence is coming to iPhone users in China, powered by Alibaba’s Qwen. Testing starts November 4 in the latest iOS developer beta, and the features launch publicly with iOS 27.3 in December. Siri in China can call on Qwen, Writing Tools gain Compose with Qwen, and Visual Intelligence can answer questions about photos and documents — but Apple asks for consent before anything is sent to Qwen, and the new Siri AI is not in this first release.
Hook: Two years waiting. China iPhones get AI in December.
Context: Apple confirmed testing starts November 4, with iOS 27.3 in December.
Stakes: Siri in China can now ask Alibaba’s Qwen for answers. Writing Tools gain Compose with Qwen, plus Visual Intelligence questions. Apple asks consent before any photo or document goes to Qwen.
Payoff: Expect iPhone-only first, on iPhone 15 Pro and newer models. Two years waited. December finally delivers. Would you trust Qwen with your photos? Answer yes or no.
Watch next: OpenAI cut its reported fundraising target by $10 billion, to about $20 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, the Financial Times reported October 30 via Reuters — the first close is expected to raise less than $20 billion as some investors trimmed allocations.
Links:
https://peoplesdaily.pdnews.cn/business/er/30053462528
https://www.skimwire.com/apple-intelligence-china-ios-27-3-alibaba-qwen/
Qwen-powered Apple AI to Launch in China in December
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