BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. Apple has published new guidance explaining how eligible Mac users in mainland China can connect Alibaba’s Qwen artificial intelligence service to Siri and Apple’s Writing Tools.
The integration could strengthen Apple’s position in China’s rapidly developing artificial intelligence computer market, where domestic manufacturers including Lenovo and Huawei have been expanding their locally developed AI capabilities.
Qwen is Alibaba’s family of generative artificial intelligence models capable of generating text and images as well as analysing documents, photographs and other content in response to user requests.
According to Apple’s updated Chinese-language guide, users who enable the service can access Qwen through Siri for more detailed responses to certain requests, including the analysis of photographs and documents. Writing Tools can also use Qwen to generate text or images based on user descriptions.
The integration is available for eligible Macs running macOS 26.6 or later, subject to requirements specific to mainland China. Users must activate the extension and sign in to a Qwen account.
Apple’s guidance states that Alibaba cannot use materials submitted through the integration to train or improve its AI models.
The move comes as Apple faces growing competition in China’s personal computer market. According to Omdia data, Mac shipments in mainland China fell 9 percent year on year to about 800,000 units in the first quarter, giving Apple a 9 percent market share. Lenovo held 31 percent, while Huawei accounted for 16 percent.
Alibaba has previously said Qwen will eventually be incorporated into Apple Intelligence across the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro in China, although Apple’s newly published instructions specifically cover Macs.
