In China, Siri will call Alibaba's Qwen where in France it calls ChatGPT

In short

• On 31/10/2026, Apple announced that in China, Siri, the writing tools and the camera will be able to call Alibaba's AI, Qwen.
• In France nothing changes: your iPhone keeps ChatGPT as backup, and Qwen is only for iPhones bought in China or set to China.
• The catch: Qwen doesn't replace Apple's AI, it's added for certain requests, and the general public gets it in December.

A press release in Chinese only

Saturday 14/11/2026, 17:16 UTC. I open Apple's Chinese newsroom. The text is there, dated 31/10/2026: Apple's AI is coming soon to China. I try the same address on the US site: page not found. On Apple's US news feed, 20 items from 13/10/2026 to 13/11/2026, not a line about China. Apple announced it in Chinese, to the Chinese.

Apple, translated word for word: its AI is "driven by generative models built by Apple". Then: "Apple has reached a cooperation with Alibaba to add support for Qwen in some Apple Intelligence experiences", in Siri, the writing tools and Visual Intelligence, the feature that analyzes what the camera sees. Testing from 04/11/2026, Beijing time, in the developer version of iOS (the iPhone's operating system), public release with iOS 27.3, planned for December. Apple's other platforms will follow "after the necessary approvals are obtained".

What Qwen will do in a Chinese iPhone

Siri will be able to hand certain questions to Qwen, and you'll be able to ask it about a photo or a document, PDFs and presentations included. You just sign in with a Qwen account or with Sign in with Apple. In the writing tools, the Compose feature asks Qwen to create original content from scratch, text or images according to Alibaba.

The rest is Apple's in-house AI: live translation, Clean Up in Photos, generated emoji, email summaries. No Siri AI, and none of the other next-generation features announced at WWDC 2026, Apple's yearly developer conference. You need an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max, Air, Duo, or an iPhone 16 or later, with Siri and the device set to English or Simplified Chinese.

According to Xinhua, China Daily and the Global Times, reporting statements by Alibaba and Apple: turning it on is your choice, Apple asks for your consent before sending a question, a document or an image to Qwen, and Alibaba says these exchanges won't be used to train its models.

Why a Chinese model

In China, a generative AI open to the public goes through the regulator. The interim rules issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and six other agencies, in force since 15/08/2023, require services that can sway public opinion or mobilize people to pass a security assessment and file their algorithms. Apple's Shanghai subsidiary made its generative AI service filing for Apple Intelligence on 08/07/2026, according to the Chinese site ifanr, which read the notice.

And ChatGPT? Apple writes that its ChatGPT extension only exists where OpenAI's service is available. The list of countries where OpenAI opens its programming interface, the channel from software to its models, includes France, not China. As early as 12/02/2025, Computerworld wrote that because of local rules Apple needed a Chinese partner, that it had passed on Baidu and, according to The Information, that it would go with Alibaba.

Qwen, who's that?

Qwen is the family of large language models built by Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba's cloud computing arm. On its site, Qwen presents itself as an assistant that chats, reads images, videos and documents, makes images and searches the web. On 13/11/2026, Kira ran the numbers on Alibaba's new flagship model, Qwen4-Max-Preview.

And you, in France?

Your iPhone still offers OpenAI's ChatGPT, with your consent before each request, unless you turn off the confirmation; Siri AI, for its part, isn't available on iPhone in the European Union, Apple writes. Qwen, according to Xinhua and the Global Times, initially only opens on an iPhone bought in China, or used in China with an Apple Account set to China. iPhone bought in France and a French Apple Account: even on holiday in Shanghai, you don't get it.

A brain or a guest?

Xinhua quotes Wang Xiaojie, an AI expert at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications: it's the first time a top global hardware maker has made a Chinese model the primary backbone of its system's AI in China. Apple's press release says something else: an AI driven by Apple's models, and Qwen in some of the uses. The two texts contradict each other. Apple's is the one that describes the product.

What has moved since

On 03/11/2026 at 18:00 UTC, which is 04/11/2026 in Beijing, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 27.3. As of 14/11/2026 at 17:17 UTC, no second beta in Apple's feed.

On 09/11/2026, the Shanghai cyberspace office published a notice: Apple Intelligence's filing also covers Apple tablets and laptops. Apple hasn't announced a date for iPad and Mac: nothing about China in its Chinese newsroom since 31/10/2026, reread on 14/11/2026.

What we don't know

Which servers Qwen uses to process your questions; which version of Qwen answers; what the contract says; the exact day in December. Neither Apple nor the articles I read say. And the version matters: on 09/11/2026, Milky told how a lab, Nous Research, retrained a Qwen to swap its values.

Last word

My opinion, labeled as such: Apple didn't sell its brain to Alibaba. It built a socket. In Paris, you plug in ChatGPT; in Shanghai, Qwen. And what picks the socket isn't you. It's your border.

Words to remember

• Filing with the regulator: in China, a mandatory declaration of a generative AI service that is open to the public and can sway public opinion.

Source sheet

• Apple: press release "Apple Intelligence is coming soon to China" (translated title), 31/10/2026 · developer releases feed · support page on ChatGPT (French).
• Chinese press on Alibaba's announcement: CGTN (Xinhua) · China Daily · Global Times.
• Qwen: Qwen on Hugging Face · qwen.ai.
• OpenAI: supported countries and territories.
• China: CAC interim measures on generative AI · Shanghai cyberspace office notice, 09/11/2026 (reposted by Beijing Daily) · ifanr's reading of the notice.
• Apple, Siri AI: US newsroom, 26/10/2026.
• Computerworld: 12/02/2025.
• Silicium Rose: Qwen4-Max-Preview, 13/11/2026 · Arete-27B, 09/11/2026.

Source passages

Show the 13 sources

Réf.	Quote (original language, translation in brackets)	URL
S1↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6+9	« 2026 年 10 月 31 日 » ; « Apple 智能即将登陆中国 » ; « Apple 智能由 Apple 构建的生成式模型驱动 » [Apple Intelligence is driven by generative models built by Apple] ; « 此外，Apple 与阿里巴巴达成合作，在部分 Apple 智能体验中加入对千问的支持，让中国用户能直接在 Siri、写作工具以及视觉智能中使用阿里巴巴的千问，包括文本与图像理解相关功能。» [Apple has reached a cooperation with Alibaba to add support for Qwen in some Apple Intelligence experiences, so that users in China can use Alibaba's Qwen directly in Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence, including text and image understanding] ; « 这一系列 Apple 智能功能将自 11 月 4 日起随最新的 iOS 开发者 Beta 版开放测试，并将于 12 月 iOS 27.3 正式发布时面向中国用户推出。其他平台的支持将在获得必要审批后推出。» [testing from 04/11 in the latest iOS developer beta; launch for users in China with iOS 27.3 in December; other platforms after the necessary approvals] ; « 在处理特定请求时，Siri 能够接入千问，利用其广博的知识为用户提供协助。用户还可以针对照片以及包含 PDF 与演示文稿的文档进行提问。只需登录千问账户，或使用通过 Apple 登录 » [for certain requests, Siri can tap into Qwen… questions about photos and documents, including PDFs and presentations… Qwen account or Sign in with Apple] ; « 借助创作功能，用户可以直接在系统全局的写作工具中，让千问从零开始创作原创内容。» [with the Compose function, Qwen creates original content from scratch] ; « 视觉智能帮助用户通过 iPhone 摄像头即时了解周围的物体和场所 » [Visual Intelligence helps users instantly learn about objects and places around them through the iPhone camera] ; features listed: « 实时翻译 » [Live Translation], « 消除工具 » [Clean Up], « 智绘表情 » [Genmoji], « 邮件摘要 » [email summaries] ; « 本次更新不包含 Siri AI 及 Apple 在 WWDC 2026 上宣布的其他下一代 Apple 智能功能。» [this update does not include Siri AI or the other next-generation features announced at WWDC 2026] ; « iPhone 16 及后续机型、iPhone Duo、iPhone 15 Pro、iPhone 15 Pro Max 和 iPhone Air，且 Siri 与设备语言均需设置为英文和中文（简体）» ; Chinese feed: latest item 09/11 (Olivia Dean), none on China after 31/10; US feed: 20 items from 13/10 to 13/11, 0 occurrences of "China", "Qwen", "Alibaba"; same address on apple.com: HTTP 404	https://www.apple.com.cn/newsroom/2026/10/apple-intelligence-features-are-coming-to-users-in-china/
S2↑1↑2↑3	« iOS 27.3 beta (24C5037i) » « Tue, 03 Nov 2026 10:00:00 PST » ; no other "iOS 27.3" entry in the feed	https://developer.apple.com/news/releases/rss/releases.rss
S3↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6	« Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group announced a partnership with Apple on Saturday to integrate its Qwen AI model into Apple Intelligence. » ; « Notably, users can choose whether to enable the Qwen integration and what information to share. Alibaba said it will not use user requests or generated responses for model training. » ; « The feature will be available on iOS to users who purchase an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone in China or whose device location and Apple Account country or region are both set to China. » ; « Wang Xiaojie, an AI expert at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said this is the first time a top global consumer hardware maker has used a Chinese large model as the primary system-level AI backbone in the Chinese market » ; « Source(s): Xinhua News Agency »	https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-10-31/Alibaba-s-Qwen-to-integrate-into-Apple-Intelligence-in-landmark-deal-1RHilSeJsbK/p.html
S4↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5	« Apple said users will be asked for permission before a question, document or image is sent to Qwen. » ; « Alibaba said requests and responses generated through the integration will not be used to train its models. » ; « with device and Siri languages set to English or Simplified Chinese, according to Apple »	https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202610/31/WS6ae54463e4b06d4aa0566359.html
S5↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5	« Apple asks for consent before any question, document or image is sent to Qwen, according to a statement published on Alibaba's WeChat account on Saturday. » ; « The integration is opt-in. » ; « Alibaba said that user requests and generated replies will not be used to train its models. » ; « The Qwen integration will initially be available on iOS to users in China who bought an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, or whose device region and Apple account country are both set to China. »	https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1373351.shtml
S6↑1↑2↑3	Hugging Face : « This is the organization of Qwen, which refers to the large language model family built by Alibaba Cloud. » ; qwen.ai : « Qwen offers comprehensive functionality spanning chatbot, image and video understanding, image generation, document processing, web search integration, tool utilization, and artifacts. »	https://huggingface.co/Qwen · https://qwen.ai/
S7↑1↑2↑3↑4	« Vous pouvez autoriser Apple Intelligence à exploiter ChatGPT d'OpenAI pour vous aider à accomplir des tâches. » ; « L'extension ChatGPT est disponible uniquement dans les régions dans lesquelles l'app et le service ChatGPT sont disponibles. » ; « Vous contrôlez quand ChatGPT est utilisé et votre autorisation vous est demandée avant que vos informations soient partagées. »	https://support.apple.com/fr-fr/guide/iphone/iph00fd3c8c2/ios
S8↑1↑2	"Supported countries and territories": "France" present, "China" absent (0 occurrences; "Hong Kong" 0, "Macau" 0)	https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/supported-countries
S9↑1↑2	« 第十七条 提供具有舆论属性或者社会动员能力的生成式人工智能服务的，应当按照国家有关规定开展安全评估，并按照《互联网信息服务算法推荐管理规定》履行算法备案和变更、注销备案手续。» [art. 17: generative AI services with public-opinion attributes or social mobilization capacity carry out a security assessment and file their algorithms] ; « 本办法自2023年8月15日起施行。» [in force from 15/08/2023]	https://www.cac.gov.cn/2023-07/13/c_1690898327029107.htm
S10↑1↑2↑3	Notice by "网信上海" (Shanghai cyberspace office) reposted by Beijing Daily, « 2026-11-09 20:08 » : « “Apple智能”生成式人工智能服务新增苹果平板和苹果笔记本电脑两类场景，已完成备案 » [the "Apple Intelligence" generative AI service adds two use cases, Apple tablets and laptops; filing completed] ; ifanr : « 公告所列备案主体为苹果技术开发（上海）有限公司，原备案日期为 7 月 8 日，此次场景变更日期为 11 月 9 日。» [the filing entity is Apple Technology Development (Shanghai); original filing on 8 July, change of use cases on 9 November]	https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s6af1b7c9e4b0e42f8f02b299.html · https://www.ifanr.com/1688654
S11↑1↑2	« Apple might use Alibaba's Qwen instead of ChatGPT to roll out Apple Intelligence in China. » ; « According to The Information, Apple and Alibaba have already "submitted the co-developed features for approval to regulators." The claim hasn't yet been confirmed. » ; « Due to local regulations, Apple needs a Chinese partner to offer its AI services in China. It had been expected to work with Baidu, but chose not to do so. » (dated 12/02/2025)	https://www.computerworld.com/article/3822999/apples-chinese-ai-problem-perhaps-solved-with-alibaba.html
S12↑1↑2↑3	Titles: "Arete-27B: Qwen doesn't lose its values, it swaps them" (09/11/2026); Qwen4-Max-Preview article (13/11/2026), EN page HTTP 200	https://siliciumrose.com/articles/qwen4-max-preview-subscription-or-nothing.html · https://siliciumrose.com/articles/arete-27b-qwen-swaps-its-values.html
S13↑1↑2	« Siri AI is currently unavailable in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. » (Apple US newsroom, 26/10/2026)	https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/siri-ai-is-available-in-more-languages-starting-today/