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Physix Frontier · News Briefing Card (Leiphone · Oct 15, 2026)

Cook confirms Apple Intelligence to use Alibaba Qwen, China beta in late Oct

KEY FACTS

  • Cook confirmed on October 15 in Shanghai that Apple Intelligence has received approval.
  • Apple Intelligence will integrate Alibaba's Qwen large model and release a beta version in late October.
  • The first batch of features includes live translation, writing tools, and a photo cleanup tool.
  • Siri AI is not among the first batch of features in this beta version.

PHYSIX OBSERVATION

Apple choosing Alibaba's Qwen instead of its own model for China is a pragmatic compromise under regulatory pressure. For users, the first features are finally usable, but Siri's absence shows the core experience remains incomplete. More notably, this sets a precedent for overseas giants to rely on domestic large models for AI capabilities in China, and other vendors will likely follow.

Source: Leiphone report