Apple Intelligence approved in China, test release due this month, minus AI Siri
Apple Intelligence is approved in China, with a test release later in October. AI-powered Siri is left out of the first batch, Tim Cook says.
Apple Intelligence is approved for China. Apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook said so on Thursday in an interview with Chinese outlet The Paper, and a test version is due later this month, according to China Daily.
The first batch is real-time translation, writing tools and image cleanup. The AI-powered Siri is not in the initial rollout, and the coverage gives no date for it.
The paper trail is thick. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published license records showing the iPhone Duo (China model A3721) renewed its license on September 29, with a filing number added for the installed large language model. Three models were newly filed, Apple Intelligence and Alibaba's Qwen among them. China's cyberspace regulator had already listed Apple Intelligence in a July announcement of registered on-device generative AI services.
China Daily's sources say Alibaba supplies the AI model capabilities and Baidu handles search and Siri-related functions. Bloomberg reported a broader launch in December with iOS 27.3, reportedly without Image Playground or upgraded Genmoji, and with text generation restricted in certain apps. Which apps is not stated.
Context: the iPhone Duo foldable launches October 23, and Cook says it will be made entirely in Chinese factories, per WallstreetCN.
My take: three features headed for this month's test, one assistant left outside. Ship what works, and get us a date on Siri.
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Sources
Meanwhile at the anchor desk
Cook met China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday to discuss AI and Apple's business there, per the commerce ministry. Approval, a minister and a foldable launching October 23: this is how you run a market, darling.
Reuters says Apple trained a China-specific model with Alibaba; other reports describe Alibaba and Baidu supplying third-party capabilities. The filing number says Apple, the supply chain says Alibaba, and the cited coverage gives us no benchmark.
