Key facts
- Apple Intelligence has been approved for launch in China by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
- The service will integrate Alibaba's Qwen AI model into Apple's operating systems.
- Baidu is also collaborating with Apple on features for Chinese users.
- Apple Intelligence features were delayed in China pending regulatory approval.
Apple Intelligence, the iPhone maker's generative AI offering, is set to launch in China following approval from the Cyberspace Administration of China. This approval comes after Apple struck a deal to integrate Alibaba's Qwen AI model into its operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.
Baidu also confirmed its collaboration with Apple on developing features for Chinese users of Apple Intelligence. The partnership with Alibaba is a significant move for Apple's AI ambitions in China, a market where it generated $20.5 billion in sales in the second quarter, marking a 28% increase from the previous year. Apple recently regained its second-place position in China's smartphone market.
Reports of a Baidu partnership had circulated previously, alongside speculation that Apple was exploring integrations with DeepSeek and ByteDance. The lack of regulatory approval had previously delayed the rollout of Apple Intelligence features in China. Alibaba confirmed that its Qwen models would be integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences, enabling capabilities such as text and image understanding and generation, though a specific timeframe was not provided.