China clears Apple iPhone AI rollout with Alibaba, Baidu
Why it matters: The approval opens Apple Intelligence in its biggest smartphone market and lifted Alibaba ADRs as much as 7.9%.
China approved Apple’s generative AI services for release on iPhones, paving the way for Apple Intelligence to launch in the company’s biggest smartphone market after a long regulatory wait. The Cyberspace Administration of China added Apple to a list of approved providers on July 15, alongside local companies including Huawei and Xiaomi. In China, Apple’s system will use Alibaba’s Qwen AI across iOS, iPadOS and macOS, while Baidu is also part of the launch. The features include writing tools, image generation, notification summaries and custom emojis. Apple has not given a rollout date, and the company still needs to work with regulators on bringing Siri AI to China.