Apple Confirms China AI Features Launch This Month
October 18, 2026 · 3 min read
Apple announced that its first batch of Apple Intelligence features will launch in China this month. The features include real time translation, photo elimination tools and writing tools in the Photos app. They will be available in test versions for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS users in China. Apple did not include a new Siri AI assistant in this initial release. The company confirmed the rollout after a visit to Blue Box in Shanghai. The rollout follows a partnership with Alibaba Cloud where its Qwen model will be integrated into Apple devices for Chinese users. This integration allows users to access text and image understanding, content generation and other capabilities without switching apps. Apple and Alibaba will jointly train models tailored for the Chinese market. The iPhone Duo repair price for internal screen damage is estimated at 7998 CNY. The iPhone Duo will begin pre sale on October 16 and go on sale on October 23. It offers four storage options and two color variants. AppleCare+ reduces the internal screen repair cost to 628 CNY. The device supports up to 24GB of storage in a special edition.
The iPhone Duo features a 185Hz under display full screen and RGB liquid cooling. Amazon introduced two Bee AI devices starting at 74.99 USD. The devices summarize conversations and create reminders. They include a wrist wearable and a magnetic phone attachment. The service includes a 30 day free trial for new users. Ramp raised 18.5 billion USD in a funding round that values the company at 600 billion USD. The round was led by Dragoneer, Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, Sands Capital and Avenir Growth. Ramp serves over 85,000 customers and processes over 120 million transactions per week. The company plans to expand into procurement, payments and accounting automation. Rockstar Games released a new trailer for GTA VI showing the cities of Vice City and Leonida. The game is scheduled for release on November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The trailer features music from the electronic duo Justice. Rivian announced plans to integrate third party AI agents into its vehicles. The agents will handle tasks such as adjusting temperature and playing news but will not control braking or steering.
Rivian will discuss AI integration at an event in December. Volvo announced an expanded partnership with Nvidia to use its AI computing technology for advanced driver assistance. The collaboration will use Hyperion sensors and the Alpamayo Stack software. Volvo plans to implement the technology in a next generation model. The partnership builds on a relationship that began in 2017. TSMC reported a 68.7 percent year over year increase in net profit for the third quarter. The company attributes the growth to strong demand for advanced manufacturing processes. TSMC expects fourth quarter revenue between 523 billion and 543 billion USD. The company projects a gross margin of 65 to 67 percent for the quarter. Anthropic is discussing an IPO valuation of 1.5 trillion USD. The company reported 168 billion USD in revenue for the third quarter. The valuation discussion is still preliminary. The company remains focused on expanding its AI capabilities. The event amount is 7998 CNY.