China’s Cyberspace Administration has finally approved Apple Intelligence, clearing the way for Apple’s upcoming generative AI service to be used on iPhones in the country for the first time, according to a Reuters report.
Chinese regulators included Apple Intelligence on a list of newly cleared providers earlier this week, which also includes AI systems from Chinese phone makers.
An unnamed source told Reuters that Apple Intelligence inside of China will be powered by models created by both Baidu and Alibaba. Alibaba isbuilding the primary system, with Baidu contributing on a smaller scale.
Alibaba told Reuters that its part will be powered by its Qwen model on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, and will include both text and image generation.
No specific date for the release of Apple Intelligence in China has been announced, although it should be ready for prime time this fall, when Apple releases the new versions of its operating systems.
Earlier this week, we reported that Apple experienced an increase in Apple’s iPhone shipments in China of 24.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, making it the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the Chinese smartphone market, despite that market shrinking overall.Apple has experienced an impressive year-on-year increase in its China shipments in the second quarter. Preliminary figures released recently by research firm IDC show Apple’s iPhone shipments in China rose by 24.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, making it the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the Chinese smartphone market, which shrank overall.
Total smartphone shipments in China fell 4.3%, with roughly 66 million units shipped, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline. Only Apple and Huawei saw improvement. (Huawei was up 19.4%.)
Apple’s improved numbers proved to be good for an 18.1% chunk of the Chinese market, up from 13.9% one year ago. Top dog Huawei’s share of the market rose 22.6%.
