Apple briefly posted a China support guide explaining how Mac users could connect Alibaba’s Qwen AI to Siri and Writing Tools, then removed the document less than a day later.
The Chinese-language guide, first spotted on August 8, said eligible Mac users in mainland China could add Qwen to Siri and to the system-wide Writing Tools. It stated the extension required macOS 26.6 or later, required users to sign into their own Qwen account, and specified that Alibaba was barred from using submitted materials to train or improve its models.
Qwen AI setup and capabilities
The guide said Siri could rely on Qwen for more detailed responses to certain requests, including analysis of photos and documents, while Writing Tools could use Qwen to generate text and images. The setup closely mirrored Apple’s existing ChatGPT extension available elsewhere, letting Siri hand off complex requests and giving Writing Tools a “Compose” option on an opt-in basis. The document did not describe an equivalent guide for iPhone or iPad.
By August 9 the guide had been removed from Apple’s site. A Chinese news aggregator reported the disappearance, and another outlet said Apple’s customer service told Chinese media it had received no notification of a new feature launch. Separately, tech analyst Liu Dingding told the Global Times that the takedown could reflect pending technical adjustments still tied to the regulatory process rather than a full reversal.
The brief posting follows a similar pattern from March, when Apple Intelligence briefly went live for some Chinese users before being pulled offline without regulatory approval. China enforces strict rules around releasing AI features and typically requires foreign companies to partner with local providers. Apple originally lined up Baidu as its primary China AI partner, but by February 2025 reports indicated Alibaba had taken over as the lead partner after Baidu’s models fell short of Apple’s requirements, with Baidu shifted to a supporting role.
Chinese regulators cleared Apple Intelligence for launch in the country in July, registering Apple’s on-device AI service with the Cyberspace Administration of China. That approval covered the iPhone only, and Apple did not say whether or when the iPad and Mac would follow, making the brief appearance of a Mac-specific Qwen guide the clearest signal yet about the Mac timeline.
It remains unclear when Apple will formally relaunch the Qwen integration for the Mac, or whether the guide’s brief appearance signals an imminent rollout.
