iOS 18.6 Apple Intelligence Launch in China Delayed by U.S.-China Trade Tensions

Apple's efforts to bring Apple Intelligence to the critical Chinese market have been stymied by tension resulting from the tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump put in place, reports Financial Times.

Apple Intelligence General Feature 2
To deploy ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features in China, Apple is working with Alibaba, and the two companies have not yet received regulatory approval in China for the AI products that Apple wants to debut. China's Cyberspace Administration (CAC) must test and approve all AI models before companies can roll out AI services in China, and that's where the process has stalled.

CAC is delaying application approval due to "increasing political uncertainties" between the United States and China. Trump significantly increased tariffs on goods imported from China back in April, and fees reached 145 percent. Apple was exempted from some of the tariffs and the tariffs were later paused for 90 days, but the trade war has been escalating in recent days as the U.S. and China have failed to reach a deal.

Earlier this week, China said that the U.S. had "severely violated" a trade agreement that had been reached at a Geneva meeting in May by limiting sales of jet engine and semiconductor design software to Chinese companies, controlling chip exports, and canceling Visas for Chinese students. Trump claimed that China violated the deal by refusing to roll back some tariffs and restrictions for critical minerals needed for chip production, and he announced plans to raise tariffs on steel back to 50 percent on June 4. Earlier today, he further said that President Xi is "very tough" and "extremely hard to make a deal with."

Chinese regulations prevent Apple from using its own AI technology for ‌Apple Intelligence‌, so Apple is planning to use models developed by Alibaba. Because of the restrictions, Apple has faced delays expanding ‌Apple Intelligence‌ to China, which is a key market. Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi have a suite of AI features available for customers, which puts Apple far behind in the AI race in the country.

The Trump administration is "considering" putting Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu on an entity list that would prevent them from engaging in trade with the United States, according to The New York Times. If that happens, Apple will face further issues trying to bring ‌Apple Intelligence‌ to China. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security has raised concerns about Apple's plans to partner with Alibaba as well.

Rumors suggest that Apple plans to debut ‌Apple Intelligence‌ in China in an iOS 18.6 update, but it is not clear if that is still going to happen nor do we know when we might get iOS 18.6 due to the approval delays. It has been three weeks since the launch of iOS 18.5, and Apple's beta updates usually come just a few days after a software release.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 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 X...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
ios 26 control center b2

iOS 26 Beta 2 Fixes Control Center Design

Monday June 23, 2025 10:58 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass. iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These Five Smaller Features You Might Have Missed

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:18 am PDT by
While the dust is beginning to settle on the first iOS 26 beta, we continue to take a closer look at new features coming with the update. Below, we recap five smaller changes that you might have missed. Emoji Game Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada can play a new Emoji Game, which tasks players with completing words and phrases with emoji. This is the fifth game that is...
airpods 4 blue

Apple Offering Free AirPods — Here's How to Get Them

Tuesday June 17, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers. Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 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 X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...

Top Rated Comments

DBZmusicboy01 Avatar
3 weeks ago
Apple Intelligence should be completely cancelled worldwide and instead we get Siri 2.0 that we desperately need.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleTO Avatar
3 weeks ago
I’m mean… they’re not missing much. No rush I’d say.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
3 weeks ago

Earlier today, he further said that President Xi is "very tough" and "extremely hard to make a deal with."
Translation: President Xi is not a TACO... or would that be a XACO? ?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jetscreamer Avatar
3 weeks ago
So China is getting something positive from the tRUMP trade war after all.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
3 weeks ago
Most consumers in China too busy enjoying their foldables/microtablets to care about Apple's AI.



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMac The Knife Avatar
3 weeks ago
Good excuse, Apple! No one in their right mind is buying it though. ;)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)