Apple Intelligence features arrive in China via iOS 27.3 beta

Apple has confirmed that several of its initial Apple Intelligence capabilities will become available in the Chinese market with the upcoming iOS 27.3 update. The company announced the news on its Chinese newsroom website, indicating that the features will first appear in a beta version scheduled for release on 4 November. A full public release of the software is expected in December.

The rollout does not include the new Siri AI assistant. Instead, users in China will gain access to earlier tools such as notification summaries, real-time translation, and writing aids for rewriting and proofreading. The update also introduces visual intelligence and the ability to remove objects from photos. Apple stated that it has collaborated with Alibaba to integrate its Qwen chatbot into specific experiences, a move comparable to the integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in other regions.

Regulatory approval for Apple Intelligence in China was granted in July, signalling that the launch was imminent. Reports from Reuters in August indicated that Apple trained a large language model specifically for the Chinese market to support these localised features.