Apple Inches Closer to Launching AI in China: CAC Approval, Baidu Integration, and a Brief Qwen Guide

Apple has been working for nearly two years to bring Apple Intelligence to China, the world's largest smartphone market. In July and August 2026, the company hit three major milestones: regulatory registration, a brief-but-confusing Qwen integration guide on Mac, and technical groundwork for Baidu-powered visual search. Here is what happened, in chronological order.

CAC Regulatory Registration (July 15, 2026)

On July 15, 2026, China's Cyberspace Administration (CAC) officially registered Apple Intelligence ("Apple智能") for use on iPhones in China — nearly 22 months after Apple first announced the feature in September 2024 . Apple's Shanghai-registered entity submitted the filing on July 8, and the CAC listed it among seven newly approved on-device generative AI services . The clearance covers iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS .

However, registration does not equal immediate public availability. Rollout remains contingent on additional security assessments, localization, and OS updates . The approval came with a structural condition: Apple cannot run its own foundation models in China. Instead, Alibaba's Qwen handles the language and image-generation layer, while Baidu manages visual search .

Baidu Visual Search Integration in iOS 27 Beta 2 (Late June 2026)

Even before the CAC registration, developers had already uncovered Apple’s technical preparations. In late June 2026, researchers combing through iOS 27 Beta 2 firmware found system-level code references to "Baidu Visual Search" (百度视觉搜索) . The code appeared as a new ExtensionKit component called SearchPartnerInferenceProvider, which is infrastructure for third-party visual search and AI services . Multiple outlets confirmed Baidu as Apple Intelligence's official AI search partner in China . This is the first confirmed instance of Apple embedding code for a domestic Chinese AI partner directly into the iOS system architecture .

Under the dual-partner arrangement, Alibaba's Qwen supplies the language and text-generation layer while Baidu handles visual search capabilities . The partnership architecture appears to be: Apple Intelligence as the system layer, Baidu as the search engine layer, and Alibaba Qwen as the model layer .

Brief Publication and Removal of Qwen Setup Guide (August 8–9, 2026)

On August 8, Apple's Chinese website published a support document titled "Using Qwen with Apple Intelligence on Mac," detailing how mainland China Mac users could connect Alibaba's Qwen large language model to Siri and Writing Tools . The guide was removed within 24 hours. Apple customer service confirmed the deletion to the Global Times but gave no reason for the pull . Chinese analysts speculated it might signal pending adjustments or that the public-facing documentation was premature . The guide originally appeared as part of the Mac Simplified Chinese user manual, indicating Apple had formally integrated Qwen at the system level on macOS .

According to the removed document, eligible users needed macOS 26.6 or later, had to activate the extension, and had to sign into a Qwen account. Apple also stated that Alibaba could not use submitted materials to train or improve its models . The guide was replaced with the previous version "Using ChatGPT with Apple Intelligence" .

Bottom line: Apple has cleared the main regulatory hurdle, publicly confirmed Qwen integration on Mac (then pulled the documentation), and is building Baidu visual search into the OS at the framework level — but a full commercial launch date has not been announced.

What This Means for Users

For Chinese iPhone users, the July 15 CAC registration is the most consequential step. It means Apple Intelligence features — including enhanced Siri responses, Writing Tools text generation, and visual search — are technically cleared to launch. The brief appearance of the Qwen guide on August 8 suggests the integration is working, at least on Mac, but Apple's decision to pull the document without explanation indicates that final regulatory sign-off or internal readiness checks may still be incomplete.

The dual-partner strategy with Alibaba and Baidu is also noteworthy: Apple is effectively outsourcing the core AI capabilities to Chinese providers to comply with local regulations, a model that may influence how other foreign tech companies approach the Chinese AI market.