Apple Intelligence cleared for China launch, partners Alibaba and Baidu

Apple’s on‑device generative AI service, Apple Intelligence, has been registered with China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC), clearing the final regulatory hurdle for the feature to be offered on iPhones and other Apple devices in the mainland. The filing was completed in early July, but no public launch date has been set.

The Chinese version will be powered by local large‑language models: Alibaba’s Qwen model and Baidu’s Ernie Bot, allowing Apple to meet China’s data‑localisation and content‑control rules. The approval places Apple among a handful of AI services cleared for public use in China and removes the primary obstacle to deploying its AI features in a market that generated roughly $20‑$21 billion in sales for Apple in the most recent quarter.

While the regulatory clearance is confirmed, rollout will depend on the integration work with the Chinese partners and may initially be limited to iPhone models, with potential expansion to iPad, Mac and Vision Pro later. Apple has not announced a specific release timetable.