Apple Intelligence Will Launch In China With Alibaba's Qwen3 Model

Apple Intelligence's launch in China is likely to coincide with the public release of iOS 18.6. (photo: x @MaxWinebach)

JAKARTA - Alibaba, China's electronics trading giant, recently launched a new version of its flagship AI model, Qwen3, which is now compatible with Apple's MLX architecture. This move signals that Apple Intelligence's launch in China is getting closer.

Although Apple's generative AI feature already supports a simple version of Mandarin on iOS 18.4, the complete Apple Intelligence feature has not officially arrived in China. China's unique regulations forced Apple to partner with local companies to release the AI feature. After considering several options such as ByteDance and Baidu, Apple finally chose Alibaba.

The Qwen3 model announced in April 2025 brings increased performance with hybrid architecture and support for 119 languages and dialects. The model also adopts the Mixture of Experts (MoE) technology that allows hybrid reasoning capabilities.

In May 2025, rumors said that Apple Intelligence would be present in China at the same time as the release of iOS 18.6, although this feature had been delayed. Apple itself has not officially activated its generative AI feature in China until the first 18.6 beta iOS was released in June 2025.

Apple CEO Tim Cook previously said that the Apple Intelligence feature also boosted sales of the iPhone 16, especially in areas where the feature was already available.

Although the exact date has not been announced, the launch of Apple Intelligence in China is likely to coincide with the public release of iOS 18.6. Meanwhile, Apple is also focusing on developing iOS 26 with various design updates and AI upgrades.