Apple Intelligence Reaches China Through iOS 27.3 Beta With Alibaba's Qwen Model
The rollout is partial: Siri AI, the Siri app and the newer iOS 27 features are left out for now.
Apple has begun making a set of Apple Intelligence features available in China through the iOS 27.3 beta, and developers there can enable them after updating. The rollout took a partnership with Alibaba and approval from Chinese regulators, since the features first arrived in the United States with iOS 18.1. The Chinese version relies on Alibaba's Qwen model for parts of Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, and it covers Live Translation, text rewriting and summarizing, object removal in Photos, and email, notification and call summaries. Siri AI, the Siri app and the newer iOS 27 Apple Intelligence features are not included. A public beta is expected soon, with a full iOS 27.3 release anticipated in December.
Why it matters
For users in China, Apple Intelligence now means a narrower, locally built version of the features first offered in the United States. Translation, text rewriting and summaries, object removal in Photos, and email, notification and call summaries are available, backed by Alibaba's Qwen model, after Apple secured both a partnership and approval from Chinese regulators. The features that are missing, including the Siri app and the newest iOS 27 additions, show how far the Chinese version still trails. A full iOS 27.3 release is expected in December, which would be the point at which the scope becomes clearer.
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