Apple Intelligence Finally Arrives in China, Powered by Alibaba, as iPhone Duo Goes on Sale

Apple Intelligence Finally Arrives in China, Powered by Alibaba, as iPhone Duo Goes on Sale

Apple Intelligence has finally arrived in China, three years late and powered by Alibaba. The iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone, went on sale in China on October 23 carrying AI features that were illegal to sell there just last month, ending one of the longest standoffs between Apple and Chinese regulators.

The approval did not come in a single announcement. Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai confirmed the partnership in February 2025; China's cyberspace regulator registered Apple Intelligence as a generative AI service in July 2026; and the industry ministry granted the final network-access permits on October 14. Each step came with content-compliance requirements Apple had long resisted, and each one shifted leverage toward Beijing.

For Apple, China is the world's biggest foldable-phone market, and the launch matters far beyond one device: it restores AI parity for Chinese iPhones that had fallen a full software generation behind. One caution for readers: the South China Morning Post, which broke the approval story, is owned by Alibaba, so its framing serves Alibaba's interests as much as it informs the public.

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