Apple plans to launch Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December with iOS 27.3, but without the new Siri AI, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. He cites unnamed people with knowledge of the matter. Apple declined to comment, so nothing here is confirmed by Apple.

What Chinese buyers would get, as reported

  • Included: Bloomberg lists Genmoji custom emoji, notification summaries, writing tools and the ability to remove specific items from photos. It calls this the feature set first rolled out in the US two years ago.
  • Left out: Siri AI and other features announced this year, per Bloomberg. It names expanding a photo, an improved version of the writing tools, vastly upgraded Genmoji and a Siri mode for visual intelligence in the camera.
  • Image generation: Bloomberg says Apple's own image-generation tools, including the Image Playground app, will be missing to comply with regulations.
  • Text tools: Bloomberg says some features for generating text will be limited in some applications.
  • Siri AI later: Bloomberg says Apple executives are not optimistic about Siri AI launching in China anytime soon.

Who the partner is

Alibaba is the partner Bloomberg names. It says the platform has guardrails developed with Alibaba, including a filter that lets the government approve ongoing updates to the AI models. Apple has not confirmed any partner in the reports we read.

Bloomberg adds that Apple is also working with Baidu on features related to search and Siri. It says Apple received Chinese permits on Sept. 29 for recent iPhones to use Apple Intelligence and Alibaba's Tongyi Wanxiang and Qwen models.

MacRumors reported in July, citing Reuters, that Alibaba said its Qwen model will power Apple Intelligence for Chinese users, text and image generation included. The same report says an unnamed source told Reuters the features would draw on both Baidu and Alibaba models.

Confirmed, reported and unknown

  • On the record: Alibaba, per Reuters as relayed by MacRumors in July, says Qwen will power the features.
  • Reported, anonymous sources: the December date, iOS 27.3, the feature list and the missing Siri AI, all from Bloomberg.
  • Reported by the South China Morning Post: the Post says the industry ministry's network-access permits for the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro and several earlier models now list three approved AI systems: Apple Intelligence, Alibaba's Qwen and Alibaba's Tongyi Wanxiang. It says the Duo releases in China next week. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
  • Unknown: the exact release date, which devices qualify, how Alibaba's and Baidu's roles divide, and whether Siri AI ever comes.

Why it matters

Chinese buyers get a catch-up release, not the headline feature. Bloomberg itself says it is unclear how much Apple will benefit from a two-year-old, relatively basic feature set while Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and others already ship AI services.

The trade-off is control. Bloomberg's government-approved update filter means model changes pass through a Chinese approval step, which is why Apple's China features may lag the rest of the world. That lag is our reading, not a reported fact.

China is also now the second large market without Siri AI. Bloomberg says that in the EU it is unclear if or when Apple will get approval. 9to5Mac notes Apple said it is working constructively with the EU on a path forward.

Our call

If you buy an iPhone in China for Siri AI, do not count on it this year. The reported December package is a smaller feature set, and Apple has confirmed none of it. Wait for Apple's iOS 27.3 notes before paying a premium for AI. For what Siri AI needs elsewhere, see our HomeView AI story.