Hands-On With China's Apple Intelligence: Solid Basics, Qwen Handles the Hard Parts

智东西 · wechat · 2026-11-04

A hands-on review of China's Apple Intelligence finds few surprises but credits the Apple-plus-Qwen hybrid for giving users more control. First-wave features split into efficiency tools (mail/message/notification summaries, call transcription) and generative ones (rewrite/proofread, photo cleanup, Genmoji, live translation).

Key findings:

Live translation covers Messages, phone calls and FaceTime, lowering the other party's voice and boosting the translated audio; each language needs an 800MB pack.
Call transcription produces audio, text and a summary in Notes; transcription is choppy under noise but summaries are solid.
Qwen integration: text rewriting offers only fixed tones (friendly/formal/concise) with mediocre results; the compose field lets Qwen expand requests and format emails; Visual Intelligence translates a menu, and follow-up dining suggestions require Qwen, with a search button linking to Baidu and Dewu.
Siri itself supports text input and handles simple requests like nearby restaurants, but complex tasks (ride-hailing, routes, posters) still require opening the Qwen app manually.

Overall, China's Apple Intelligence is still filling in single-point features while domestic rivals push agents and cross-task orchestration; cross-device integration with Mac and iPad may unlock more.

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Hands-On With China's Apple Intelligence: Solid Basics, Qwen Handles the Hard Parts

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