Apple and Alibaba partner to bring Qwen AI to Chinese users

A strategic partnership for China

Apple and Alibaba have officially announced a partnership to bring Alibaba's Qwen large language model into the Apple Intelligence ecosystem. This move is specifically designed to provide users in China with access to advanced text and image understanding capabilities. The integration will allow these features to function directly within core system tools like Siri, Writing Tools, and Visual Intelligence.

The collaboration follows recent regulatory progress in the region. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently granted approval for Alibaba’s AI models to be integrated into several Apple handsets. This includes the new iPhone Duo, marking a significant milestone for the US technology giant as it seeks to expand its AI ecosystem through cooperation with Chinese firms.

According to a statement from Alibaba, the goal is to combine Alibaba's deep AI capabilities with the Apple ecosystem. Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu Yongming said the partnership aims to bring brand-new intelligent services to Apple users in China. This cooperation ensures that Chinese consumers can access high-quality generative AI while adhering to local requirements.

How the integration will work

The Qwen model will be integrated into system-level Writing Tools to provide a new feature called Compose with Qwen. This tool can generate content on any topic and even create images for the user. Additionally, Visual Intelligence will include an Ask Qwen option, which allows users to identify objects in their surroundings using the camera.

Siri will also be enhanced to draw on Qwen's broader knowledge base to provide direct answers to user queries. Users will have the ability to ask specific questions about selected documents or photos. To maintain privacy, Apple will require user consent before any question, document, or image is sent to the Qwen model for processing.

The integration is designed to be an opt-in experience for the consumer. Once a user enables the feature, they can choose to sign in using either Sign in with Apple or their own personal Qwen account. Users maintain control over when the model is utilized and what specific information is shared during those interactions.

Timeline and device availability

The rollout for these features is scheduled to begin in late 2026. Developers will be able to test the Qwen integration starting on November 4, 2026, through Apple’s latest iOS developer beta. The general public will receive the official release with the launch of iOS 27.3 in December 2026.

The initial rollout will target users in China who own an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone. This includes devices where both the device region and the Apple account country are set to China. The first wave of features will be available on several specific models, including the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, as well as the iPhone 16 and later models.

Other supported hardware for this initial launch includes the iPhone Air and the iPhone Duo. For these devices to support the new features, the system languages must be set to either English or Simplified Chinese. Apple has noted that support for other platforms will follow once the necessary approvals are obtained.

Privacy and data protections

A key component of the partnership involves how user data is handled by Alibaba. The company has stated that user requests and the replies generated by the AI will not be used to train its models. This is intended to provide a layer of security for users who are interacting with the Qwen model through Apple's interface.

Apple is also implementing strict consent protocols to ensure transparency. The system is built to ask for permission before any data, such as a photo or a document, is sent to the external model. This ensures that the AI only accesses information that the user explicitly intends to share for a specific task.

By combining these protections, the partnership seeks to balance the utility of generative AI with user privacy. The integration allows for sophisticated features like photo object removal, notification summaries, and smart replies while keeping the underlying data usage governed by user choice. This framework is central to how Apple is deploying its self-built generative models alongside third-party partners.

The broader AI landscape

This development is part of a larger trend of Apple Intelligence appearing in regulatory filings in China. In July, Apple Intelligence was listed among seven on-device generative AI services that completed the necessary regulatory procedures in the country. This suggests a concerted effort to make AI a standard part of the mobile experience.

The partnership with Alibaba highlights the necessity of local cooperation for global tech companies. By using Qwen, Apple can navigate the complexities of the Chinese market while still offering the core