Apple Intelligence may launch in China this year: All the details

Apple is reportedly pushing ahead with its plan to launch Apple Intelligence in China, a critical move to compete in the world's largest smartphone market, Mark gurman has said, claiming that the company is initially targeting a mid-year release with iOS 18 . The launch of AI features on iPhones in China has faced delays due to regulatory hurdles in the country and concerns from US officials.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is partnering with Alibaba and Baidu to navigate China's strict regulations. Alibaba would act as a “censorship engine,” ensuring Apple's on-device AI models comply with government rules.

Baidu, meanwhile, is set to provide the large language model (LLM) technology that will power Siri and other features, similar to how OpenAI and Google function in the US.

Why Apple Intelligence launch in China is ‘Big’ for Apple
The company views Apple Intelligence launch as a crucial selling point for the iPhone 17 . Despite the setbacks, Apple is still actively testing the features with employees in China and aims to release the functionality by the end of the year, likely with the iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2 update.

Apple preparing for major update to Siri
Meanwhile, Apple is also said to be preparing a major update to Siri, which has been in the works for over a year. The company is set to launch a new search product, internally named World Knowledge Answers (WKA), designed to rival AI services like Perplexity and OpenAI's ChatGPT.

This new feature is part of a significant overhaul of Siri, which was previously delayed. The update is now scheduled for March, with the new Siri system able to tap into user data and on-screen information to answer queries and allow for full voice control of devices and apps.

Apple is exploring partnerships to power this new "answer engine." While it has had discussions with OpenAI and was close to a deal with Anthropic, the company has recently struck a new evaluation agreement with Google's Gemini team to test and fine-tune a model for its new Siri architecture, Gurman claims.

While the final decision is still pending, current indications suggest the new Siri will operate using a combination of Google and in-house Apple models. This move is seen as a crucial step for Apple to catch up in the AI space.