Apple Intelligence Approved in China — Two Years After Launch

China's Cyberspace Administration (CAC) — the country's chief digital regulator — has officially approved Apple Intelligence. This clears the way for AI features to launch on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro in a country of 1.4 billion people. The approval comes nearly two years after Apple Intelligence debuted in the United States.

To navigate China's regulatory system, Apple was forced to drop its own models and OpenAI in favor of local solutions. AI features in China will run on Qwen — Alibaba's model — and Baidu technology. This is a mandatory condition: Chinese law prohibits processing user data through foreign AI systems without a local partner and regulatory approval.

Apple has not announced a specific launch date for Chinese users. Regulatory approval is a necessary but not final step: technical and infrastructure work will still be required for the rollout. Apple has not specified which exact set of features will launch in China, or whether there will be limitations compared to the US or European versions.

Apple has become a textbook example of what it takes to bring a global AI product to a closed market: Western algorithms can't simply be switched on in China without swapping the underlying model and obtaining government sign-off. The formula — Western brand, local AI models under the hood — will likely serve as a blueprint for other players seeking to operate in China. It also illustrates just how differently the same AI product can look across different regulatory jurisdictions.