China Clears Alibaba's Qwen for Apple Intelligence Ahead of iPhone Duo Launch

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has approved Alibaba's Qwen models and its Tongyi Wanxiang image and video tool for use in Apple handsets. That could put Apple Intelligence on the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable, when it launches in China next week, according to Semafor.

The approval was reported by the South China Morning Post, which Alibaba owns, according to Engadget. Both Engadget and Computerworld covered the approval.

What got approved

The updated network access permits cover the iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and several earlier Apple models. They now list three approved AI systems: Apple Intelligence, Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen (the group of LLMs better known as Qwen) and Tongyi Wanxiang.

The setup is not a simple port. Computerworld notes that Apple developed a proprietary AI model for China with support from Alibaba, because US AI models are not available in China. Apple Intelligence in the US relies on models Apple trained with Google and OpenAI, with complex questions handed off to them, according to Engadget. The China version swaps that supply chain for a domestic one.

I would love to give you a repo and a price per token. The reporting gives neither. There is no word on the commercial terms between Apple and Alibaba, and no word on which Apple Intelligence features China will get compared with other markets. The reporting gives no date for a mainland software update.

The long road to this permit

This has been a slow grind. Apple received clearance to roll out Apple Intelligence on the Chinese mainland back in July, but according to the South China Morning Post's report, as relayed by Engadget, it has not launched yet. Computerworld says Apple and Alibaba submitted their co-developed AI features to the Cyberspace Administration of China in the past year.

There were tells. Computerworld also reports that, in August, Apple briefly posted and then removed documentation showing how Mac users in China could set up their computers to work with Qwen AI. A briefly visible instruction manual is a breadcrumb, not a launch announcement.

Much of the Apple Intelligence feature set is already available in Hong Kong. Engadget says the mainland's complex AI and privacy laws forced Apple to be patient with what it calls a core feature in one of its fastest-growing markets. Its mainland debut would come roughly two years after the US launch.

The human traffic lines up too. Computerworld reports that Tim Cook, Apple's former CEO and now executive chairman, met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing on Monday, after a weekend of stops across China. Apple COO Sabih Khan visited the Foxconn Technology Park on October 11. Computerworld adds that Apple has not yet discussed its plans to bring AI to the Chinese market.

The numbers behind the push

The calendar is tight. Computerworld reports that iPhone Duo pre-orders open across 70 nations, China included, on October 16, with shipments on October 23. Engadget says the new and improved Siri AI is one of the Duo's flagship software features in China.

The stakes show up in the market data:

• Counterpoint Research says Apple took 33% of China's smartphone market in the week of September 14 to 20. Local reports claim 1.3 million of the new devices sold in China in the first week, per Computerworld.
• China makes up more than a third of global folding phone sales, according to Computerworld. Huawei and other Chinese rivals saw a spike in foldable demand after Apple announced the Duo.
• Semafor says Apple sees AI features as critical to competing with Huawei, the only firm it lags in China.

The outlets disagree on the mood of the market. Semafor says the Chinese smartphone market has slumped amid weak consumer spending and rising hardware costs. Computerworld says Apple demand remains incredibly strong, citing JP Morgan's finding of stronger iPhone 18 Pro demand than the prior year's model. Both can be true: a weak market with one strong seller in it.

The competition is not standing still either. Semafor reports that AI lab StepFun released a $600 AI agent smartphone on Tuesday. An analyst called the move "quite bold" under present conditions, suggesting that smartphones' ability to continually gather user data, and make assistants more personalized, might explain the bet. A $600 agent phone is a data-collection bet, and Apple now has a local model to answer it.

What to watch

The permit is paper. The product is software, and the open questions are all about delivery.

• Whether the Duo ships October 23 with the Alibaba-powered features working out of the box, or needs a later update. The reporting does not say.
• The exact date Apple pushes the software update that gives mainland users Apple Intelligence. No date is public in the coverage.
• Which features survive the trip. Hong Kong already has much of the set, but the mainland rules are different.

My read: the approval removes the biggest blocker, and the October 16 pre-order date is the first real test. If Apple has the AI switched on by the time boxes land on October 23, this was a clean play. If it has to ship a patch, it was a permit looking for a product.