Apple will launch its artificial intelligence platform, Apple Intelligence, in mainland China as part of an iOS 27.3 update in December, clearing more than a year of Chinese regulatory delays by building in safeguards developed with Alibaba Group. In New York, the company's resilience in a falling market pushed it past $5 trillion in market value on a closing basis, the second company to do so after Nvidia.
The rollout includes AI features that first appeared on iPhones, iPads and Macs in the United States two years ago, Bloomberg reported on the 14th. They include Genmoji custom emoji, notification summaries, writing tools and a feature that removes specific objects from photos. The revamped Siri AI voice assistant unveiled this year and other newer features are excluded.
The China launch follows years of effort. Apple at one point targeted May of last year, then pushed the date back twice, to the end of last year and then to early this year, because Chinese approval had not come through. The company received preliminary clearance to introduce Apple Intelligence in China in July and has since held further talks with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology over permission for a consumer release.
That led Apple to begin working with Chinese companies. Unlike in other markets, the Chinese version of the platform includes safeguards developed with Alibaba Group, among them a filter that allows the government to approve continuing updates to the AI models. Apple is also working with Baidu on search and Siri-related functions.
Chinese approvals came in stages. The iPhone released on Sept. 29 received clearance to support Apple Intelligence and Alibaba's AI models, including Tongyi Wanxiang and Qwen. Apple board chairman Tim Cook attended a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.
The first Chinese version of Apple Intelligence will not include the company's own image-generation tools, such as the Image Playground app, a step taken to comply with regulations. Text-generation features will also be limited in some apps. Many of Apple's early AI features drew criticism for working poorly and lagging rival services.
Apple overhauled Apple Intelligence this year and introduced Siri AI to address the problems, but Siri AI is not part of the China launch, Bloomberg said, adding that Apple executives do not expect it to arrive in China any time soon.
In Europe, Apple only received permission in September to introduce upgraded versions of the early Apple Intelligence features it launched there in 2024. Siri AI remains absent from iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches in the European Union, and whether it will be introduced there remains unclear.
Meanwhile, Apple's market value topped $5 trillion (about 6,712 trillion won) in New York for the first time. The shares closed 0.50% higher, giving the company a market capitalization of $5.005 trillion.
Apple held onto that 0.50% gain and set a record high even as the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 1.88%. The company's market value had touched $5 trillion six times during trading sessions, but this was the first time it closed above that level.
The milestone came about a month and a half after Tim Cook stepped down as chief executive at the end of August and John Ternus took over.
