In 2024, Apple announced its suite of AI features for the iPhone: Apple Intelligence. However, Apple Intelligence still remains incomplete — particularly a revamped Siri digital assistant — and it’s not even made its way to China yet, which is a major market for the company. That may be about to finally change.
Apple insider Mark Gurman, in his newsletter Power On, reveals that he’s been told that the next two iOS 26 updates will be monumental for the Chinese region. iOS 26.2 and iOS 26.3 will reportedly see Apple bring formal support for its AI services to the country. In preparation for this, perhaps, iOS 26.1 has just brought support for traditional Chinese and Mandarin Chinese.
Would you have bought an iPhone 16 or iPhone 17 without Apple Intelligence?
Yes
55.01%
No
38.96%
Not an iPhone user
6.04%
Consumers in China had to use their iPhone 16 without Apple Intelligence, despite it being the most marketed feature of those phones. The iPhone 17 launch this month didn’t mention AI much, but it was still implied that it would lay a major role in the company’s products from the next year and onwards.
As such, iPhone 16 sales actually suffered quite a bit in China, and only recovered when Apple was forced to offer its phones at a discount. Even now, there are new problems for the iPhone in China. For example, the iPhone Air isn’t available in the country yet due to its reliance on e-SIM.
The iPhone Air cannot use a physical SIM card. | Image credit — PhoneArena
If the next two iOS 26 updates do bring Apple Intelligence to the iPhone in China, then the company will finally be delivering on its most marketed feature for last year’s flagship phones.
Of course, this hasn’t really been Apple’s fault. China made it very difficult to bring Apple Intelligence to the country, as the government wanted to be able to control what the AI features could do. The solution that Apple has been working on involves letting Chinese companies handle the AI tools on the iPhone, so that any “required” censorship can be applied.
Despite the lack of Apple Intelligence for a second generation’s launch in a row, the iPhone 17 has been very popular in China, much like it has been all around the world.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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