Apple is splitting up its AI stack. Instead of rolling out the same system worldwide, the company reportedly built a China-only model with help from Alibaba to navigate the country’s tough regulatory hurdles.

Reuters reported Friday that Apple’s new model is expected to work alongside Alibaba’s Qwen and possibly technology from Baidu. Neither Apple nor its Chinese partners has explained which model will handle each part of Apple Intelligence. Although no launch date has been announced yet, Reuters expects the service to arrive in China within the next few months.

ChatGPT, Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude can’t provide the same services in China, leaving Apple dependent on models developed or approved within the country.

In most of the world, Apple handles requests locally or on its private servers using its own models. The company’s own Foundation Models handle on-device tasks, while Google’s Gemini technology powers more complex cloud-side requests through a multi-year licensing deal formalized in early 2026. Siri users can also access ChatGPT through an optional extension.

Those options aren’t available in China, which means ChatGPT, Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude can’t provide the same services there, leaving Apple dependent on models developed or approved within the country.

The Chinese version will use Qwen in some capacity. Reuters reported August 8 that Apple had published a Chinese-language guide showing Mac users how to connect Qwen to Siri and Writing Tools. Apple later removed the page without explanation. Baidu technology is reportedly part of the planned system as well.

Apple’s goal to train its own regional model changes the equation because now, instead of relying completely on a Chinese tech partner, Apple will run its own LLM with outside assistance.

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