Apple says the first Apple Intelligence features are coming to users in China

Apple's China newsroom published a press release dated 31 October 2026 saying the first Apple Intelligence features for iPhone users in China will open for testing on 4 November 2026 in the latest iOS developer beta, and will be released to users in China in December with iOS 27.3. The release says support on other platforms will come after the necessary approvals.

The release says the features are driven by generative models built by Apple. It names live translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone; writing tools that rewrite, proofread and summarise; visual intelligence through the camera; a Clean Up tool in Photos; Genmoji; natural-language search and memory movies in Photos; priority mail and mail summaries; suggested replies in Mail and Messages; notification summaries and priority notifications; a Reduce Interruptions focus; and transcription summaries in Notes and for phone calls. It also says Siri can be used by typing, and that it keeps context across a conversation.

The release says Apple has worked with Alibaba so that some Apple Intelligence experiences support Qwen. It says users in China can use Qwen inside Siri, writing tools and visual intelligence, including for text and image understanding. It says Siri can call Qwen for some requests, and that people can ask about photos and about documents that include PDFs and presentations, after signing in to a Qwen account or with Sign in with Apple. It says a writing feature can ask Qwen to draft original text inside the system-wide writing tools. The release says this update does not include Siri AI, or the other next-generation Apple Intelligence features Apple announced at WWDC 2026.

A footnote says the first core features on iOS 27.3 cover iPhone 16 and later models, iPhone Duo, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone Air, and that Siri and the device language must be set to English and Simplified Chinese. A separate footnote lists the AirPods models for live translation of a face-to-face conversation: AirPods 5, AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation, AirPods Pro 2 and later models, or AirPods Max 2, on the latest firmware and paired with an iPhone that has Apple Intelligence on, with the same language setting.

What it means for business: this is a product rollout for users in China, not a new Chinese statute. The release says other Apple platforms wait on approvals. Teams that ship iPhone software or support staff devices in China can read the device and language limits in the footnotes. This describes the release. It is not advice on whether a particular feature meets a Chinese filing or data rule.