--- title: "Alibaba's Qwen Will Power Parts of Apple Intelligence in China" description: "Apple Intelligence reaches iPhone users in China with iOS 27.3 in December, with Alibaba's Qwen inside Siri and Writing Tools. Testing starts November 4." url: https://publishmyblog.com/ai/qwen-powers-apple-intelligence-china/ section: "AI" author: "Saeed Shahriar" published: 2026-11-02T06:53:03.119Z --- # Alibaba's Qwen Will Power Parts of Apple Intelligence in China Siri can hand some requests to Qwen, and the new Siri AI from WWDC 2026 isn't part of the first release. Apple Intelligence is coming to iPhones in China, with **Alibaba's Qwen inside Siri and Writing Tools**. Testing starts November 4, and iOS 27.3 brings it to users in China in December. Sell to your buyers in China on the iPhone? Their assistant is changing. ## What Apple announced Apple posted the news on October 31 in [its China newsroom](https://www.apple.com.cn/newsroom/2026/10/apple-intelligence-features-are-coming-to-users-in-china/). **Apple Intelligence runs on generative models Apple built**, and Qwen is added to selected experiences. Here's the Qwen part, from Apple's release: - Siri can pass certain requests to Qwen to draw on its broad knowledge. - You can ask about photos and documents, PDFs and presentations included. - A Create option in Writing Tools lets Qwen write original content from scratch. To use Qwen inside Siri, you sign in with a Qwen account or with Sign in with Apple. The first batch of features that Apple is bringing to iPhone users in China also includes Live Translation, Clean Up in Photos, Genmoji, Priority Mail, Smart Reply and Type to Siri. Siri AI isn't in it. Neither are the other next-generation features Apple showed at WWDC 2026. It runs on iPhone 16 and later, iPhone Duo, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone Air, so the base iPhone 15 and older models are left out. Then there's language. **Siri and the device language must be English or Simplified Chinese.** Other platforms follow once Apple gets the approvals it needs. ## What Alibaba added Alibaba announced its side on Saturday, [as CGTN reported from Xinhua](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-10-31/Alibaba-s-Qwen-to-integrate-into-Apple-Intelligence-in-landmark-deal-1RHilSeJsbK/p.html). **Some details come only from Alibaba's side.** According to Alibaba, users choose whether to turn Qwen on and what to share. **It says it won't train on your requests** or on the answers Qwen generates. Who gets it? Alibaba says the Qwen feature on iOS is for two groups of iPhone users in China: - People who buy an Apple Intelligence iPhone in China. - People whose device location and Apple Account region are both set to China. Apple's release doesn't cover how Qwen handles your data at all, so if you work in a field where buyers ask about privacy, the only promise you can point them to for now is Alibaba's. Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said Qwen will bring new AI services to Chinese users with Apple. A Beijing university AI expert, Wang Xiaojie, is quoted too. **He called it the first time** a top global hardware maker has used a Chinese model as its main system AI in China. ## Why it matters So who should care? **App makers, sellers and travel brands** whose buyers in China carry an iPhone. With Qwen inside Siri and Writing Tools, a Chinese model will now answer some of what your buyers in China ask Siri. I think **that matters more than Genmoji**, because it puts Qwen between your buyers in China and your brand before they open your app or your site, and you won't see that step. In practice, it reminds me of [Google opening Gemini and Search to outside apps](https://publishmyblog.com/ai/google-connected-apps-platform-preview/). Before December, I'd check three things: - What Qwen says about your brand. Ask it the questions your buyers would type, in Simplified Chinese and in English. - Your push copy, since Priority Notifications decide which alerts come first. - Your English pages, because Apple supports English here as well. You don't need the beta for the first one. Though I'd hold back on big plans. **Apple hasn't said which requests Siri sends to Qwen.** My guess is the November 4 beta will show you which requests Siri sends to Qwen. **That's when I'd decide on your China plan.** Still, start with what Qwen says about your brand. Do it now. ## Common Questions **When will Apple Intelligence be available on iPhones in China?** Apple says the first Apple Intelligence features open for testing in the iOS developer beta on November 4, 2026, and reach users in China with the official iOS 27.3 release in December 2026. **Which Apple Intelligence features use Alibaba's Qwen in China?** Qwen is available in Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence. Siri can pass certain requests to Qwen, users can ask about photos and documents, and Writing Tools can have Qwen write content from scratch. **Does Alibaba use Apple Intelligence requests to train Qwen?** No, according to Alibaba. The company says it won't use user requests or Qwen's generated answers for model training, and that users choose whether to enable Qwen and what to share. ## Sources - [Apple 智能即将登陆中国](https://www.apple.com.cn/newsroom/2026/10/apple-intelligence-features-are-coming-to-users-in-china/), Apple Newsroom - [Alibaba's Qwen AI model to integrate into Apple Intelligence in landmark partnership](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-10-31/Alibaba-s-Qwen-to-integrate-into-Apple-Intelligence-in-landmark-deal-1RHilSeJsbK/p.html), CGTN