Apple Takes a New Approach To AI In China. It’s Building Its Own Model With Alibaba’s Help.

Apple has reportedly developed its own artificial intelligence model specifically for China, marking a major shift in how the iPhone maker plans to bring its AI features to the world's largest smartphone market.

The China-specific large language model was trained with support from Chinese technology giant Alibaba and could give Apple greater control over the AI experience offered on iPhones and other devices sold in the country.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that Apple trained the model in partnership with Alibaba.

The change comes as Apple prepares to roll out Apple Intelligence in China in the coming months following an update to iOS. The company has spent months trying to navigate China's strict rules governing generative AI services, which have prevented it from launching the same AI experience available in several other markets.

The challenge is particularly complicated because several foreign AI models that Apple can tap outside China are unavailable in the country. That has forced the company to build a separate strategy around Chinese technology providers and locally approved models.

Apple's own public statements have underscored that divide. When the company unveiled its next generation of Apple Intelligence in June, it said its new foundation models were developed in collaboration with Google and Gemini technology. But Apple also acknowledged that Siri AI and other new Apple Intelligence features would not initially be available in China while it worked through regulatory requirements.

The China strategy now appears to be taking shape.

Apple cleared an important regulatory hurdle in July when China's Cyberspace Administration registered its generative AI service, paving the way for Apple Intelligence to reach Chinese devices, Reuters previously reported. Under the arrangement, Alibaba's Qwen technology was expected to be incorporated into Apple Intelligence on compatible devices, alongside technology from Baidu.

The newly revealed Apple-trained model adds another layer to that setup. It remains unclear exactly how Apple's proprietary model, Alibaba's Qwen and other Chinese technology will work together once the service launches.

There have already been signs of Apple testing a closer connection with Qwen. Reuters reported last week that Apple published instructions showing eligible Mac users in mainland China how to connect Alibaba's Qwen service with Siri and Writing Tools. Apple later removed the guide without explaining why.

For Apple, getting AI onto Chinese iPhones has become increasingly important as domestic manufacturers pile pressure on its smartphone business.

Companies such as Huawei have moved quickly to integrate generative AI into their devices, leaving Apple competing without one of the features it has increasingly positioned as central to the future of the iPhone. Developing its own China-specific model could allow Apple to maintain more control over those features instead of handing much of the experience to a local AI provider.

The approach could also make Apple an unusual case among American technology companies operating in China. According to Reuters, the company would become the first foreign firm approved by Beijing to offer a proprietary AI model in the country if the plan proceeds as expected.

Alibaba's role in Apple's China AI plans has been known since early 2025, when Chairman Joe Tsai confirmed that Apple had considered several Chinese companies before choosing Alibaba as a partner. What is new is Apple's apparent decision to train a model of its own with Alibaba's help rather than simply plugging Qwen into its devices.