The Pulse
Cook Says Apple Intelligence Test Version in China Is Due Later in October
Apple executive chairman Tim Cook told The Paper in Shanghai that Apple Intelligence has been approved in China and that a test version with real-time translation, Writing Tools and Clean Up arrives later in October, without Siri AI.
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Apple Intelligence has been approved in China, and a test version will follow later in October, Apple executive chairman Tim Cook told The Paper (澎湃新闻) in an exclusive interview in Shanghai on October 15. According to the newspaper, the first features are real-time translation, Writing Tools and the Clean Up tool in Photos. Siri AI is not part of the first release.
“我们非常高兴已获批为中国用户带来首批Apple智能的核心功能，包括实时翻译、照片app 中的消除工具以及写作工具等。我们期待在本月晚些时候即将推出的测试版中向用户提供这些功能。”
Tim Cook, executive chairman, Apple, to The Paper
In those words, Cook said Apple was very pleased to have been approved to bring the first core Apple Intelligence features to users in China, among them real-time translation, the Clean Up tool in the Photos app and Writing Tools, and that Apple looked forward to offering them in the test version coming later this month. Neither gave a specific day, though the headlines of both The Paper and Cailian Press placed the test version at the end of October. The Paper did not say when Siri AI might be added in China or which features would follow the first ones.
Cailian Press (财联社) carried a similar account the same afternoon. It reported that Cook, answering questions during his visit to Shanghai, said the test version would include real-time translation, Writing Tools and photo cleanup but not Siri AI, and quoted him as saying the first core Apple Intelligence features could go live gradually.
The models on the permits
The interview followed a regulatory step reported a day earlier. The Paper said the latest public network-access permit information from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed on October 14 that the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable phone (China model A3721), had its permit renewed on September 29 with the filing numbers of the large models the device carries added to it.
Three models were added: Apple Intelligence (Shanghai-AppleZhiNeng-202506160057), Tongyi Wanxiang (Shanghai-TongYiWanXiang-202410090024) and Tongyi Qianwen (ZheJiang-TongYiQianWen-20230901). The Paper said several other Apple phones, including the iPhone 18 Pro series, the iPhone 17 Pro series and the iPhone Air, also had model filing numbers added on September 29.
The South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, reported the same permit updates on October 14 as China approving Alibaba’s AI models for integration into several Apple handsets, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the long-delayed launch of Apple Intelligence in China. It identified Tongyi Qianwen as Qwen, the family of large language models developed by Alibaba Cloud, and described Tongyi Wanxiang as specialising in text-to-image and video generation. Neither report said which model handles which feature.
The Paper also noted an earlier filing. In July, the Cyberspace Administration of China’s official account published a notice listing seven on-device generative AI services that had completed filing, among them the “Apple智能” model of Apple Technology Development (Shanghai), filed on July 8, 2026, for use on Apple phones.
Before the approval
Apple Intelligence has not been available on iPhones sold in mainland China, where generative AI services must be filed with regulators before they reach the public. In February 2025, Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai that Alibaba would work with Apple on AI for iPhones in China.
Cook made the remarks in his first months in his new role. Apple announced on April 20, 2026, that John Ternus would become chief executive on September 1 and that Cook would become executive chairman of its board.
On the same day as the interview, The Paper reported, Cook visited the home sleep brand Blue Box (蓝盒子), which it said deploys Macs at scale and uses the Mac mini for on-device AI. The visit came on the eve of iPhone Duo pre-orders in China. Asked by The Paper about the phone, Cook praised its hinge and the immersive large screen it opens into, saying he could not help smiling every time he opened it.