Apple has published a guide explaining how eligible Mac users in mainland China can connect Alibaba’s Qwen artificial-intelligence service to its own Siri digital assistant and Writing Tools feature.
The Mac-specific arrangement could help Apple compete in China’s AI PC market, where it has been losing market share as domestic manufacturers such as Lenovo have promoted locally developed AI features, reports Reuters. Here are some details from the report:
° Qwen is Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba’s family of generative-AI models, which can create text and images and analyse documents, photos and other material in response to user prompts.
° Apple’s updated Chinese-language guide says users who opt in can use Qwen through Siri for more detailed responses to some requests, including analysis of photos and documents. Writing Tools can also draw on the service to create text or images from a description.
° The extension is intended for Macs running macOS 26.6 or later, subject to China-specific conditions. Users must activate the extension and sign in to a Qwen account.
° Alibaba can’t use those materials to train or improve its models, according to the guide.
° libaba has said Qwen will be incorporated into Apple Intelligence across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro software in China, though Apple’s newly published guide covers Macs only.
Mac shipments in mainland China fell 9% in the first quarter year on leaving it with 9% of the PC market, versus Lenovo’s 31% and Huawei’s 16%, according to Omdia.
I hope you’ll help support Apple World Today by becoming a patron. Almost all our income is from Patreon support and sponsored posts. Patreon pricing ranges from $2 to $10 a month. Thanks in advance for your support.
