Exclusive | Tim Cook: Apple Intelligence’s Core Features Have Been Approved in China, with a Test Version Coming by the End of October
The reader’s brief
Approval, a beta test and a full public launch are different milestones. The Paper’s late-October timing concerns a beta for an initial feature group; it does not mean all Apple AI functions, especially the newer Siri AI, become available together in mainland China.
In an October 15 interview reported by The Paper, Apple's Tim Cook said the first core Apple Intelligence features had received approval for China, with a beta expected later that month. The initial group described in the report includes live translation, Writing Tools and the Clean Up feature in Photos; the newer Siri AI is explicitly excluded.
The article connects that announcement with Chinese regulatory records for Apple devices and AI models, including Apple's own system and Alibaba's Tongyi models. It reports that several iPhone families had model-filing details added to their network-access documentation in September. Approval, beta availability and a full public release are separate milestones: the article's late-October statement concerns a test version, rather than a promise that every Apple AI feature will be available then.
Background: Apple Intelligence is Apple’s suite of generative artificial intelligence features.
- Alibaba
- A Chinese technology group whose businesses include commerce and cloud computing. Reference ↗
- Apple Intelligence
- Apple's collection of AI features for supported devices. Availability depends on device, software, language and region. Reference ↗