Apple’s generative AI service, Apple Intelligence, has been registered for use on tablets and laptops in China, Shanghai’s cyberspace regulator announced on Monday. The move expands the service beyond smartphones and follows the company’s earlier regulatory approval for iPhones in July 2026.
China requires companies to register large language models and generative AI services with authorities before offering them to the public. The latest filing adds iPads and Mac laptops as approved uses for the service, clearing a key step toward broader availability across Apple’s device lineup in the mainland market.
Apple has developed a China-specific large language model with support from Alibaba, marking a shift from its approach in other markets. Alibaba’s Qwen model will provide text and image understanding and content generation capabilities through features such as Siri, writing tools, and visual intelligence. Alibaba has stated that these capabilities will be available to Chinese users across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.
The company has indicated that the features will arrive with the iOS 27.3 update in December 2026, following the release of a test version for developers on November 4. Earlier reporting has also noted involvement by Baidu in certain Apple Intelligence features for Chinese users.
The registration comes nearly two years after Apple Intelligence first launched in other markets, reflecting the time required to meet China’s regulatory standards for AI services. Expanding approval from iPhones to tablets and laptops is expected to support a more consistent AI experience across Apple’s ecosystem in China once the December rollout begins.
MacDailyNews Take: Good news for Apple and for iPad and Mac sales in China, but as we wrote in November 2024, “Apple Intelligence in China will be highly censored and rather limited; it will only spit back the approved narratives of the Chinese Communist Party.” The Chinese people are, unfortunately, acclimated to censorship and a lack of freedom, so iPad and Mac sales will increase with the advent of Apple Intelligence in China, regardless of the limitations placed upon it by the Chinese Communist Party.
Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. — Potter Stewart
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