Apple's slow, complicated relationship with Apple Intelligence in China may finally be moving forward. According to a new report, the country's cyberspace regulator has officially registered Apple Intelligence for use on iPhones sold there.
Baidu and Alibaba Step in to Unlock Siri in Chinese iPhones
The information comes from Reuters and this is an important step that clears one of the biggest obstacles standing between Chinese iPhones and Apple's new Siri AI. Unlike most markets where Apple can simply ship its own AI models, China's regulations don't give the Cupertino giant that option.
Local law requires any generative AI service operating in the country to run through a Chinese partner, which meant Apple couldn't just plug its own LLMs (Large Language Models) into Siri and be done for the day.
Now, that restriction has been the biggest reason Apple Intelligence has been noticeably absent from iPhones in China, even as it slowly rolled out elsewhere. Reuters reports that Apple has now worked around this by teaming up with not one, but two Chinese AI companies, namely Baidu and Alibaba. The AI models of these two companies will reportedly power different aspects of Apple Intelligence services in the region.
Apple itself hasn't confirmed the partnership publicly, but Alibaba has already gone on record, stating that its Qwen model will be built into Apple's iOS.
The new Siri app and other AI features are currently confined to the iOS 27 beta and only in English, across a small set of countries. China was always going to be the trickiest market to unlock given the regulatory requirements involved.
Although that hurdle seems to have been crossed, it doesn't mean Chinese iPhone users will see the new Siri immediately, as there's still no confirmed launch date. But the wait may finally be nearing its end.
