Apple to Launch Apple Intelligence in Mainland China via iOS 27.3 in December

Apple is planning to release Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December via the iOS 27.3 update, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The rollout will include the initial AI feature set that Apple first introduced in the United States in 2024.

The first batch of features includes Genmoji custom emoji, notification summaries, writing tools, and photo editing capabilities such as removing objects from images. The new Siri assistant, rebuilt on Google's Gemini models and introduced in 2026, will not be part of the initial release.

Apple has developed compliance safeguards with Alibaba and is working with Baidu to localize search and Siri-related features. The company previously targeted a May 2025 launch in China, but repeatedly delayed it. On September 29, 2026, Apple received the relevant approval allowing recent iPhone models to support Apple Intelligence and Alibaba's AI models.

The Chinese AI app market is highly competitive, with local vendors already offering multiple products. Whether Apple's entry with a two-year-old feature set will stand out remains to be seen.