Apple Intelligence could soon make its way to users in China.
Chinese commerce giant Alibaba has unveiled a new version of its flagship Qwen3 AI model, now compatible with Apple’s MLX architecture, signaling that the debut of Apple Intelligence in China is on the horizon.
While Apple Intelligence gained support for the simplified version of Chinese with iOS 18.4, Apple’s generative AI features still have yet to debut in China itself. The country’s unique regulatory requirements meant that Apple had to partner with a local company to release any AI features. Although the iPhone maker considered working with ByteDance and Baidu, Apple eventually went with Alibaba.
Now, a new statement by Alibaba on Monday suggests that Apple Intelligence is closer than ever to its China release. As noted by Reuters, Alibaba has launched an upgraded variant of its Qwen3 AI model, with compatibility for Apple’s platforms, meaning it will run on the Neural Engine on Apple Silicon Macs, and Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones and iPads.
Alibaba originally announced its Qwen3 AI model in April 2025, and touted it as an improvement with a hybrid architecture and better performance relative to the previous Qwen2.5. It supports 119 languages and dialects, and features Mixture of Experts (MoE) models coupled with “hybrid reasoning capabilities.”
There has been some discussion as to whether or not AI models can reason at all, with an October 2024 study by Apple saying that there was “no evidence of formal reasoning in language models.” The behavior of LLMs “is better explained by sophisticated pattern matching,” which the study found to be “so fragile, in fact, that [simply] changing names can alter results.”
Still, Apple has chosen Alibaba as its partner in China, meaning that the iPhone maker has faith in the commerce giant’s abilities in the area of AI, which has caused concern for U.S. officials. Similarly, a February 2025 report suggested Alibaba would be able to manipulate Apple Intelligence output in China, to comply with censorship requirements.
According to a May 2025 rumor, Apple Intelligence is expected to launch in China with the release of iOS 18.6, as the feature set faced delays. Even so, its imminent debut will likely impact iPhone sales.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook himself previously said that Apple Intelligence influenced iPhone 16 sales, and that the device performed better in markets and regions where the company’s AI features were made available.
When Apple Intelligence might launch in China
On Monday, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 18.6, but did not announce the debut of Apple Intelligence in China. There are currently no indications that the company’s generative AI features have been made operational in the country.
Apple Intelligence might roll out in China with the full public release of iOS 18.6
Behind the scenes, AppleInsider can confirm that iOS 18.6 has been in development since at least early April 2025, indicating that it’s likely more than a simple bug-fix release or security update. Apple could decide to preview Apple Intelligence in China with the public release of iOS 18.6 rather than any of the developer betas.
However, Apple is expected to start winding down iOS 18 development in favor of iOS 26, which was recently announced at WWDC 2025.
The new operating system features a comprehensive design overhaul known as “Liquid Glass,” but it also delivers a few Apple Intelligence improvements. Apple released a new Foundation Models framework, new styles for Image Playground, and improvements to Shortcuts, among other things.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen exactly when Apple Intelligence will debut in China, but in any case, iOS 18.6 will see a full public release more than a year after Apple Intelligence was officially announced at WWDC 2024.
