EXPLORINEER
en

US — The Verge

Apple Intelligence is finally coming to China with iOS 27.3

AI1 min read

Apple will bring Apple Intelligence, its AI features, to China with the iOS 27.3 update. The first version is a beta test that is set to launch on November 4.

What happened

Apple announced on its Chinese newsroom website that Apple Intelligence is coming to China with iOS 27.3. The features will first appear in a beta, which is an early test version for users to try. The full iOS 27.3 release is scheduled for December. The new Siri AI is not part of this launch. Instead, Apple is bringing several earlier Apple Intelligence features to China.

Key facts

  • Beta launch date: November 4
  • Full iOS 27.3 release: scheduled for December
  • Apple Intelligence was approved in China in July
  • Apple trained its own large language model (LLM) for China, according to Reuters in August

Background

Apple says it worked with Alibaba to add support for its Qwen chatbot in some features. This is similar to how iOS works with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which launched in 2024. A chatbot is an AI program you can talk to by typing or speaking.

Why it matters

Apple Intelligence has been missing from one of the world's biggest phone markets. Now Chinese users can use tools like notification summaries, real-time translation, and writing help. The approval and the Qwen partnership show that Apple is adapting its AI to local rules and local services.

What to watch

  • Whether the November 4 beta works as planned
  • When the full iOS 27.3 release arrives in December
  • When the new Siri AI might come to China

Glossary

Apple Intelligence
Apple's set of AI features built into its phones, tablets, and computers.
iOS 27.3
A version of the software that runs on iPhones.
Qwen
A chatbot made by Alibaba, a large Chinese tech company.
LLM
Large language model, an AI system trained on huge amounts of text to understand and write language.
beta
An early test version of software that users try before the final release.

Same story, different eyes

Ad

Add 150 words. Learn 10 a day.

Dicter word books send only the words you learn to your review notes.

More in this topic

AIThe Register

Darkbloom, which allowed Mac users to rent out their GPUs for AI inference, warns of low payouts

Darkbloom, a distributed inference network from Seattle-based Eigen Labs, lets macOS users rent out their GPUs for AI model prompts routed through OpenRouter. Participants have reportedly earned only a few cents to a few dollars per day as token prices have fallen, with the median leaderboard earnings about $5.26 per day. Eigen Labs researcher Kydo said earnings have been low and are unlikely to recover soon, and the company is exploring other models and compute work.

AITechCrunch

Salesforce’s M&A spree continues with a reported $375M deal for defense tech startup Rune

Salesforce has agreed to acquire Rune Technologies, which builds AI software that helps the U.S. military predict supply needs and manage field logistics, for $375 million in cash and stock, according to Resilience Media. The deal expands Salesforce's Missionforce defense unit, whose business grew 80% year over year after a 10-year, $5.6 billion U.S. Army contract. Rune, founded in 2024, had raised $30 million and was last valued at $127 million in a Series A led by Human Capital.

AIThe Verge

The biggest names in AI are backing a new way to opt out of scraping

OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic say they will adopt a shared "policy token" standard, proposed by Anthropic's Kevin Kelley through the IETF, that lets publishers set AI training preferences once across multiple AI companies via robots.txt. Anthropic has already adopted the signal, Google and Microsoft plan to support it next year, and OpenAI says it will implement it in the "coming months." Microsoft will also offer more granular controls for opting out of AI training or AI grounding, and says websites will still appear in Bing search results regardless.

AITechCrunch

Zest’s new AI agent finds restaurants and books reservations over text

Zest, a restaurant discovery app launched earlier this year, has added a text-based AI "restaurant concierge" that makes personalized suggestions and can check availability and book tables through OpenTable, Resy, and SevenRooms. Users can also add the concierge to group chats to blend everyone's tastes, vote on options, and book for the group. The app learns tastes by linking to users' credit cards, using only food and drink transactions imported via Plaid.