While you may very well have been underwhelmed by Apple Intelligence, at least you had access to it. That hasn’t been the case for those in China so far, even as we are now 21 months after the initial launch.
However, that is finally about to change. Apple Intelligence has now received the green light from the Chinese government. The service has been registered with the Chinese cyberspace regulator for use on iPhones in the country. All AI products need to undergo this step before they can be offered in China.
In China, Apple Intelligence will allegedly “incorporate capabilities from AI models developed by Baidu and Alibaba”, according to a new report citing “a source familiar with the matter”. Alibaba confirmed the fact that its Qwen model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS in China. A Baidu spokesperson also confirmed that Apple is working with Baidu to “develop Apple Intelligence features for Chinese iPhone users”.
While Apple Intelligence is now legally allowed to be offered in China, the regulator’s statement did not contain any information about the actual launch date. That’s still up to Apple.
