Apple launches first AI feature in China in December... Except for the new Siri

Conditions for approval include Alibaba safety measures and Baidu cooperation.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seol Won-tae = Apple is preparing to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) platform in mainland China after a long period of regulation, Bloomberg News reported on the 15th, citing sources.

China is a key market for Apple, but Apple AI features have not been available so far.

According to sources, Apple plans to launch Apple Intelligence in China as part of its operating system iOS 27.3 update in December.

The iPhone, iPad, and Mac include AI features that were first introduced in the U.S. two years ago, but features released this year, such as the new Siri AI assistant, are omitted.

After receiving preliminary approval last July, Apple underwent additional consultations with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It was scheduled to be released in May 2025, but was repeatedly postponed.

Apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook attended the White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 24th of last month.

As a condition of approval, Apple also made concessions. The platform for China uses safety measures developed with Alibaba to include a filter that allows the government to approve AI model updates, and the search and Siri functions are in collaboration with Baidu.

On the 29th of last month, permission was received to use Apple Intelligence and Alibaba AI models (Tong Yi Wanxiang and QOne) in the latest iPhone.

The initial version includes only basic features such as Zenmoji, notification summaries, and writing tools, and excludes new features such as photo expansion that came out this year and the new Siri AI based on Google Gemini. Apple's initial AI features were criticized for not working properly.

Image creation tools, etc. are also excluded for compliance purposes. Bloomberg pointed out that while AI services from competitors such as Huawei and Xiaomi are spreading, it is unclear how helpful this feature-oriented launch two years ago will be for Apple.

Apple faced similar difficulties in the EU. Initial features were released several months later than in the United States in 2024, and most of the latest features were introduced only last September, but Siri AI is not yet available in the EU.