Alibaba Group Holding BABA has released its updated Qwen3 family of artificial intelligence (AI) models, which could signal the potential roll-out in China of machine-learning technology on Apple Inc AAPL devices.
This includes iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, SCMP reported on Tuesday, citing a company tweet.
Open source gives the public access to a software program’s source code, allowing third-party developers to modify or share its design, fix broken links, or scale up its capabilities.
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Recently, Alibaba co-founder and Chair Joe Tsai said he opted to open-source its Qwen models, citing their potential to drive demand for AI applications and cloud computing.
Benchmark analyst Fawne Jiang mentioned Alibaba as a leading beneficiary of accelerated AI adoption in China and a top structural player in the sector.
This latest development reflects Apple’s efforts to expand the availability of its Apple Intelligence suite to mainland China. Under Chinese rules, any model part of Apple Intelligence would need regulatory approval for public release in the country.
Alibaba released the Qwen3 AI models for MLX via Hugging Face and Alibaba Cloud’s ModelScope site.
Why It Matters
Alibaba has committed at least 380 billion yuan ($52 billion) in cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the next three years. Alibaba Cloud is China’s largest cloud service provider, with over one-third of the market.
Counterpoint had highlighted how the U.S. and Chinese markets dictated the iPhone’s prospects.
It is noteworthy that Counterpoint cut growth expectations for global smartphone shipments in 2025 to 1.9%, down from the prior 4.2%, citing the Trump administration’s tariffs. The firm also expects Apple and Samsung Electronics shipments to slow.
International Data Corporation (IDC) cut the 2025 global smartphone shipment growth outlook to 0.6% from 2.3%.
IDC expects Apple’s smartphone shipments in China to fall by 1.9% in 2025.
Price Actions: BABA stock is up 0.18% at $116.17 at last check Tuesday. AAPL is down 0.34%.
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