Overview
- Apple confirmed on Oct. 31 that developer beta testing of Apple Intelligence in China will begin on November 4 and that a public iOS 27.3 release with a curated feature set is planned for December.
- The initial rollout is limited to iPhone models only: iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16 and later, iPhone Air, and iPhone Duo, and requires the device and Siri language be set to English or Simplified Chinese.
- Included features will be Live Translation, Writing Tools (rewrite, proofread, summarize), Visual Intelligence, Clean Up in Photos, Genmoji, notification and email summaries, Smart Reply, and transcription summaries for Notes and recorded calls.
- Apple will not ship Siri AI or Image Playground in this China launch and will route some experiences through a local model by integrating Alibaba’s Qwen for Writing Tools, Visual Intelligence, and select Siri requests.
- The phased, restricted rollout follows months of regulatory review and registration in China and signals that iPad, Mac, and broader Apple Intelligence capabilities will arrive only after Apple secures further Chinese approvals.