China approves Apple Intelligence on device AI

Apple Intelligence, the company's suite of on-device AI features, has received regulatory approval from China's Cyberspace Administration, clearing a major hurdle for its launch in one of Apple's most critical markets. The approval, granted on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, places Apple on a list of newly cleared generative AI providers alongside domestic Chinese tech giants Huawei, Xiaomi, and Samsung.

The approval concludes a lengthy regulatory process that began in 2024 when Apple first unveiled its AI capabilities. To comply with China's stringent laws governing generative AI, data privacy, and large language models, Apple was required to partner with local firms that already possessed government approvals. The company ultimately partnered with Alibaba, which confirmed that its Qwen AI model will power Apple Intelligence for users in China, providing text processing and image generation capabilities across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. An unnamed source indicated that technology from Baidu will also be incorporated for specific functions, such as visual intelligence.

The partnership grants Alibaba's AI technology access to hundreds of millions of Apple device users in the...