Apple Intelligence Finally Reaches China in iOS 27.3 Beta, Minus Siri AI
Apple Intelligence arrives in China with the iOS 27.3 beta, powered partly by Alibaba's Qwen model. See which features work, what is missing and when to expect it.
iPhone owners in China are getting Apple Intelligence for the first time. The first beta of iOS 27.3 switches on a long list of Apple’s AI tools in the country, more than two years after the features debuted in the United States in October 2024. The rollout is limited for now: it is a developer beta, and the headline feature, Siri AI, is not part of it.
What took so long
Apple Intelligence first appeared in the US with iOS 18.1. According to MacRumors, Apple could not offer it in China until it teamed up with Alibaba and received approval from Chinese regulators. As a result, several features in the Chinese version, including Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, use Alibaba’s Qwen language model behind the scenes. Siri can also pass some questions on to Qwen when a request needs a more detailed answer.
Which features are included
Apple’s own list, reported by 9to5Mac and MacRumors, covers most of the tools that arrived elsewhere with iOS 18 and iOS 26:
- Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime and the Phone app, plus support on compatible AirPods. MacRumors names AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation, AirPods Pro 2 and later models.
- Writing Tools for rewriting, proofreading and summarizing text. With Qwen, users can also generate new text.
- Visual Intelligence, which identifies objects and places through the camera.
- Photos tools: Clean Up for erasing unwanted objects, search in everyday language and memory movies built from any prompt. Genmoji, Apple’s custom emoji maker, is on 9to5Mac’s list as well.
- Mail and Messages helpers: email summaries, priority emails and suggested Smart Replies.
- Notification tools: summaries, priority alerts and a Focus mode designed to cut interruptions.
- Notes and Phone: summaries of audio recordings and call transcripts, which are saved to Notes.
- Siri upgrades: Type to Siri, more natural language and the ability to follow context within a conversation.
The two outlets describe the new Focus mode under slightly different names, Reduce Distractions and Reduce Interruptions, so the final label may differ in the shipping version.
What is still missing
The biggest gap is Siri AI, the more capable assistant Apple has been building in the US. The Chinese release also leaves out the dedicated Siri app and, according to both sources, essentially all of the newer Apple Intelligence features introduced with iOS 27. In practice, Apple is starting China with the older feature set and leaving its latest work for later.
What it means for iPhone owners in China
For people in China with a compatible iPhone, this is the first real chance to use Apple’s AI tools on their own devices. Everyday helpers such as call and email summaries, live translation during calls and cleaner photos could be the most practical additions. Anyone who is not a registered developer should hold off for now: beta software can be unstable and is best kept off a phone you rely on every day.
Developers in China can turn on Apple Intelligence after installing the beta. As with other iOS betas, that is done under Settings, General, Software Update, by opting in to the developer beta.
When everyone gets it
MacRumors expects Apple to open a public beta soon, which would let more users in China with compatible devices try the features. The final iOS 27.3 release is expected in December. Apple has not said when Siri AI or the iOS 27 features will follow in China, and that timing remains the main open question.
