Siri Support for Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Russian Languages Coming Next Month?

siri iconTech in Asia reports on an article [Google translation] from Chinese information technology website DoNews claiming that Apple is preparing to bring support for the Chinese language to Siri on the iPhone 4S next month. According to the report, Apple is also preparing to launch support for Japanese and Russian, but the initial Chinese support will only include Mandarin, with Cantonese and other dialects being left out for the time being.

The Chinese tech site DoNews claims to have heard from an Apple engineer who’s working on the Chinese-language version of Siri, the clever voice assistant on the iPhone 4S. From this source it claims that Siri will launch in Chinese next month, and is already undergoing internal testing this month. [...]

The rumor also contends that the Chinese version will only support the standard Mandarin (aka: putonghua) Chinese, which would leave out Cantonese-speaking people, as well as some Taiwan folk who effectively speak in a different dialect. Plus, it alleges that Japanese and Russian will arrive next month as well.

Siri currently supports only English (United States, United Kingdom and Australia), French, and German but in Apple's Siri FAQ the company promise support for additional languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish, this year.

Chinese support for Siri is likely a high priority for Apple, given the strong growth the company is experiencing in the country. The iPhone 4S launched on partner carrier China Unicom last month and rumors are swirling that it may debut on China Telecom in the very near future.

Japan is another key market for Apple, with the company having enjoyed long-standing popularity with users and where the iPhone 4S debuted as part of the first round of launches in mid-October. Apple has placed less emphasis on Russia, but along with Brazil, India, and China the country is considered to have one of the world's up-and-coming economies where Apple would certainly like gain momentum. The iPhone 4S launched there in mid-December.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

Carlanga Avatar
173 months ago
Siri hablame en español, dale!!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
173 months ago
Siri Toggles for one. You can tell Siri to turn WiFi on or off, reduce or increase your backlight brightness to a certain percentage, or to launch a specific app.

You can also make siri voice acitvied and make her say "Yes" when you activate her. All of which I used, until she started thinking she heard "Siri" and would say "YES" in the middile of meetings at work. I would get looks like why are your pants talking....
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calderone Avatar
173 months ago
めっちゃすげい!


Siri is so young... less than a year old and already she is learning 3 more languages. She will only get better with time.
Anyone else find this a bit creepy?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Key Avatar
173 months ago
Siri is so young... less than a year old and already she is learning 3 more languages. She will only get better with time.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
techdogg Avatar
173 months ago
In soviet Russia...

In soviet Russia, Siri asks YOU the questions!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
heyyoudvd Avatar
173 months ago
Now when are Siri's location features going to finally come to Canada?

It was stated that we'd finally get them in 2012 but we're 1.5 months in and there's still no word. I'm tired of only having access to half of what Siri can do.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)