Odaily Planet Daily reports that, according to sources, Apple plans to launch its first Apple Intelligence features in mainland China this December via the iOS 27.3 update, covering iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. The initial features include Notification Summaries, writing tools, personalized Genmoji stickers, and photo object removal, but do not include the new Siri AI assistant built on Google’s Gemini model.
Reports indicate that Apple previously received preliminary approval to launch Apple Intelligence in China, collaborated with Alibaba to develop AI security mechanisms compliant with local regulatory requirements, and partnered with Baidu to develop search and Siri-related features. On September 29, Apple obtained the necessary license permitting recently released iPhone models to support Apple Intelligence and Alibaba’s AI models.
Additionally, the Chinese version of the initial Apple Intelligence features will not include image generation tools such as Image Playground, and some text generation functions will also be restricted. Apple declined to comment on the matter. (Bloomberg)