Since launching Apple Intelligence in 2024, Apple has been working to release the set of features in China, the largest smartphone market in the world. But, from the very start, they have faced pressure from both China and the United States. Now they might finally be close to launching.
Apple’s past struggles
One of the primary issues Apple is facing is that any company looking to launch generative AI product in the country must have approval from a local regulator. In order to get this approval, Apple is effectively forced to partner with a local company for AI technology, as products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are not available there. As a result of this, Apple has partnered with Alibaba, which was announced earlier this year by Alibaba Group chairman Joe Tsai.
Following that partnership, Apple had hoped to launch Apple Intelligence in China in the middle of this year. Unfortunately, that plan hit further snags after China held up approvals, reportedly as a result of the US-China trade war. In the United States, the government has also been concerned about potential national security implications of this deal:
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, called the deal “extremely disturbing”. He warns that Apple could be enabling a company closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party’s, much like the fears over TikTok that got it banned-but-not-quite in the U.S.
“The United States is in an AI race with China, and we just don’t want American companies helping Chinese companies run faster,” added Greg Allen, the director of the Wadhwani A.I. Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A new hope?
Despite these challenges and setbacks, Apple has continued to move forward and is hard at work on launching Apple Intelligence in China. According to today’s Power On newsletter by Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to finally launch the features in China by the end of this year:
While it’s certainly plausible that a release could get delayed again, the plan right now is to launch the functionality before the end of the year — with the software included in iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2. The company is actively testing the features with employees in China, I’m told, and continues to work with Alibaba and other providers on the rollout.
The timing of this release is critical, as Apple is about to launch its new iPhone 17 lineup at its “Awe dropping” event in less than two days. According to Gurman, Apple considers these features the be a “critical selling point” for the new iPhone models.
Final thoughts
Regulatory struggles with China are nothing new for Apple, though this issue has proven particularly difficult for them. China is last remaining major market without Apple Intelligence, and Apple’s sales have struggled. But, Apple has been making progress on improving sales in China, and launching Apple Intelligence is likely a key part of their plan on furthering that progress. Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously cited the lack of Apple Intelligence in China as a part of why iPhone sales were down.
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