Apple Intelligence gets approval to launch in China via Alibaba Qwen

In short: China approved Apple Intelligence to launch in the country, using Alibaba’s Qwen AI as part of the service.

What happened

China’s Cyberspace Administration approved Apple’s AI services for use in China, according to Reuters. This clears a key regulatory step for Apple Intelligence, Apple’s set of AI features built into its devices.

The approval is tied to a partnership with Alibaba. Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI models into Apple’s operating systems, including iOS (iPhone software), iPadOS (iPad software), macOS (Mac software), and visionOS (Vision Pro software).

Alibaba confirmed the partnership to CNBC. It said Qwen will be “integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences,” including features that can understand and generate text and images. It did not give a launch timeline.

The deal has been discussed in reports for months. Before choosing Alibaba, Apple reportedly explored working with Baidu, and also looked at options from DeepSeek and ByteDance, but those efforts did not lead to a launch.

Why it matters

For people in China, this could mean Apple’s built-in AI features finally arrive on iPhones and other Apple devices sold there. Think of it like Apple adding a local “engine” under the hood, so the features can run in a way that meets China’s rules and works better with Chinese users. For Apple and Alibaba, it also matters financially. China is a major market for Apple, and Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares rose after the news.

Source: TechCrunch AI