Apple to launch artificial intelligence for iPhones in China, but agreed to restrictions imposed by authorities – Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
Apple plans to launch Intelligence in China in December 2026 with regulators' approval for model updates. Siri AI will not work there.
The American company Apple plans to launch the Apple Intelligence platform in mainland China in December 2026 after lengthy negotiations with local regulators. However, to enter the Chinese market, the company had to agree to special restrictions and oversight of the AI’s operation. Bloomberg reports this, citing informed sources, writes UNN.
Details
Apple Intelligence is expected to become available in the iOS 27.3 update. Chinese users will receive the AI features that the company introduced in the United States two years ago, including emoji generation, photo editing, writing tools, and automatic notification summaries.
At the same time, the new AI-powered voice assistant Siri, created using Google Gemini models, will not yet work in China. Other latest features introduced by Apple this year will also remain unavailable.
Chinese authorities will control AI updates
To obtain approval, Apple agreed to cooperate with China’s Alibaba, which helped develop special mechanisms for overseeing the operation of AI. In particular, these mechanisms provide for the possibility of Chinese regulators approving model updates.
The company is also working with Baidu on search features and Siri technologies. At the end of September, Apple obtained the necessary approvals to use Alibaba’s AI models on new iPhones.
According to Bloomberg, the launch of Apple Intelligence in China has been postponed repeatedly due to regulatory difficulties. Initially, the company expected to introduce the technology as early as May 2025.
At the same time, the publication’s sources note that Apple’s management does not expect a full-fledged Siri AI to launch quickly in China. The company itself has not officially commented on the platform’s launch timeline.
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