Key takeaways
- Apple confirmed that Apple Intelligence launches in mainland China with iOS 27.3 in December, with testing from November 4. Alibaba’s Qwen model helps inside Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence.
- Siri AI, the rebuilt assistant Apple showed at WWDC 2026, is not included. The features need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and the phone must be set to English or Simplified Chinese.
- My view: after two years of waiting, Chinese buyers get the crumbs of WWDC. Apple borrows its AI brain everywhere, Google at home and Alibaba in China, and in China it obeys without a word.
Apple announced on its Chinese website on Saturday that Apple Intelligence will finally launch in mainland China. Testing starts November 4 with a developer beta, and the public release comes with iOS 27.3 in December. Chinese users get Writing Tools, Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone, Genmoji, Clean Up, notification summaries, natural-language photo search and Type to Siri. Alibaba’s Qwen model can be used inside Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, for example to ask about a photo or a PDF, with sign-in through an Alibaba account or Sign in with Apple.
Siri AI, the rebuilt assistant Apple unveiled at WWDC 2026, is not part of the launch. The features work only on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer, including the iPhone Air and iPhone Duo, and Siri and the device must be set to English or Simplified Chinese. iPad and Mac still wait for approval. Apple first promised Apple Intelligence for China in September 2024; China’s internet regulator cleared it on July 15, 2026, and Chinese rules require foreign AI services to run on a domestic partner’s model.
In this article: WWDC promised a new Siri. China gets the crumbs · Two years of paying for a phone without AI · Only from the iPhone 15 Pro · The richest company, and languages are still a luxury · Apple borrows a brain everywhere · In China, Apple obeys · Huawei and Xiaomi are waiting · FAQ
WWDC promised a new Siri. China gets the crumbs
Let’s remember what Apple showed at WWDC. Siri AI with personal context from your photos, messages and files. Siri that sees your screen, works inside your apps, keeps a real conversation in its own app, and runs on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay and AirPods. That was the big promise.
And now we see what was a myth. China gets none of it. It gets the old Siri you can type to, and Alibaba’s Qwen for some requests. That’s it. After all the noise on the WWDC stage, this shows exactly what the Siri promises are worth.
| Shown at WWDC 2026 | China with iOS 27.3 |
|---|---|
| Siri AI with personal context | No |
| Siri sees your screen and works inside apps | No |
| Siri app with conversation history | No |
| Writing Tools, Genmoji, Clean Up | Yes |
| Help from a big AI model | Alibaba’s Qwen (Google’s Gemini tech elsewhere) |
| Devices | iPhone 15 Pro and newer only; iPad and Mac wait |
| Languages | English or Simplified Chinese |
Two years of paying for a phone without AI
For two years, people in China paid for an iPhone without AI. Same price, half the phone. That has finally ended, and iPhone owners from the iPhone 15 Pro up can now say: it works.
But in their place, I wouldn’t rush to celebrate. Right now they will discover the magic, how slow and dumb Siri is.
Only from the iPhone 15 Pro
We have known for a long time that it works only from the iPhone 15 Pro. But remember what John Ternus said: you don’t need a new phone. China confirms the opposite once again. AI is the reason to buy a new iPhone, nothing else.
The richest company, and languages are still a luxury
And look at the languages. In China, Siri and the phone must be set to English or Simplified Chinese. Two languages. Siri AI around the world still speaks only a handful of languages, and more are promised “by the end of the year”.
Don’t forget, this is the richest company in the world, and it still can’t handle languages. In my opinion, it’s a disgrace. Either Apple does it on purpose, or it is really this weak. Apple is making a total mess of it, and languages remain some kind of rarity, like we are living in the year 2000.
Apple borrows a brain everywhere
Here is what Apple doesn’t like to say out loud. In China, the brain is Alibaba’s Qwen. At home, Apple built its new Siri AI in a “deep collaboration with Google,” on the technology behind Gemini. Apple said so itself at WWDC.
So Apple doesn’t have its own AI anywhere. It borrows a brain from Google at home and from Alibaba in China. And Ternus says he “really likes where we’re at”. Please. How is that possible? In China Siri runs on someone else’s AI, and at home Siri lags so far behind that it can’t even be described.
In China, Apple obeys
That Apple in China has to follow local laws and put a local AI into its devices is understandable. China is one of Apple’s biggest markets, it is too big and too profitable, and Apple can’t afford to stay without it. So Apple has to try for China and do everything the law orders.
And that Apple stays silent about where and how Chinese users’ data will be stored is completely normal. In China, Apple can’t play the tough guy like in the USA and Europe. There it has to go along with whatever politics China imposes.
But see the double standard. In China, Apple obeys without a word. At home, it lectures us about privacy. And when an American journalist asks about Siri, the answer is: “Everyone has an opinion.”
Huawei and Xiaomi are waiting
This is where people in China will start comparing. Huawei and Xiaomi have their own AI, and I am sure their AI will work better than Siri.
I don’t think sales will jump much just because Siri now works in China. I believe many people already know how weak Siri is. If a person goes for a phone where AI works really well, because they need it that much, they will look at something from the competition that works better than Siri.
Yes, China is now Apple’s fastest-growing market: revenue up 28% in the second quarter, and the iPhone 18 Pro up 29%. But we still don’t know for sure whether that is real sales, or whether a lot of phones were simply put into warehouses in China.
Also on Evolt News: Ternus says his word is “product” · iPhone 18 Pro sales in China, the US and Japan · HomePod mini 2 and the Siri AI fine print
Photo: Apple Store, Jing’an District, Shanghai. Perimeter Chou, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This article is opinion.
Apple Intelligence in China: FAQ
When does Apple Intelligence launch in China?
Testing starts November 4 with a developer beta. The public release comes with iOS 27.3 in December.
Does Siri AI come to China?
No. Siri AI, shown at WWDC 2026, is not part of the China launch. Users get Type to Siri and access to Alibaba’s Qwen for some requests.
Which iPhones support Apple Intelligence in China?
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16 and later, iPhone Air and iPhone Duo. iPad, Mac and other devices still await regulatory approval.
Why does Apple use Alibaba’s Qwen in China?
Chinese rules require foreign generative AI services to run on a domestic partner’s model. China’s internet regulator cleared Apple Intelligence on July 15, 2026.
Which languages does Apple Intelligence support in China?
Siri and the device must be set to English or Simplified Chinese.
Sources: Apple, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, The Next Web, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, Counterpoint Research.
Our Take
Two years of waiting, and China gets the crumbs of WWDC: no Siri AI, only the newest iPhones, two languages and a borrowed brain from Alibaba.
Apple obeys in China and lectures us at home. Meanwhile Huawei and Xiaomi have their own AI. I wouldn’t celebrate yet.
