Alibaba Unveils Qwen3 AI Models Compatible with Apple's MLX Architecture

Alibaba launches new Qwen3 AI models for Apple's MLX architecture

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - China's tech giant Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab has launched new Qwen3 artificial intelligence models for Apple's (AAPL.O), opens new tab MLX architecture, Alibaba said in a statement on Monday. The new models would be able to run on a range of Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, MacBook and Mac, Alibaba said in a post on Wechat. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Tomasz Janowski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

Alibaba touts Qwen3 AI model compatible with Apple platforms

Chinese commerce giant Alibaba has unveiled a new version of its flagship Qwen3 AI model, now compatible with Apple's MLX architecture, signaling that the debut of Apple Intelligence in China is on the horizon. While Apple Intelligence gained support for the simplified version of Chinese with iOS 18.4, Apple's generative AI features still have yet to debut in China itself. The country's unique regulatory requirements meant that Apple had to partner with a local company to release any AI features. Although the iPhone maker considered working with ByteDance and Baidu, Apple eventually went with Alibaba. Now, a new statement by Alibaba on Monday suggests that Apple Intelligence is closer than ever to its China release. As noted by Reuters, Alibaba has launched an upgraded variant of its Qwen3 AI model, with compatibility for Apple's platforms, meaning it will run on the Neural Engine on Apple Silicon Macs, and Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones and iPads. Alibaba originally announced its Qwen3 AI model in April 2025, and touted it as an improvement with a hybrid architecture and better performance relative to the previous Qwen2.5. It supports 119 languages and dialects, and features Mixture of Experts (MoE) models coupled with "hybrid reasoning capabilities." There has been some discussion as to whether or not AI models can reason at all, with an October 2024 study by Apple saying that there was "no evidence of formal reasoning in language models." The behavior of LLMs "is better explained by sophisticated pattern matching," which the study found to be "so fragile, in fact, that [simply] changing names can alter results." Still, Apple has chosen Alibaba as its partner in China, meaning that the iPhone maker has faith in the commerce giant's abilities in the area of AI, which has caused concern for U.S. officials. Similarly, a February 2025 report suggested Alibaba would be able to manipulate Apple Intelligence output in China, to comply with censorship requirements. On Monday, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 18.6, but did not announce the debut of Apple Intelligence in China. There are currently no indications that the company's generative AI features have been made operational in the country. Behind the scenes, AppleInsider can confirm that iOS 18.6 has been in development since at least early April 2025, indicating that it's likely more than a simple bug-fix release or security update. Apple could decide to preview Apple Intelligence in China with the public release of iOS 18.6 rather than any of the developer betas. Ultimately, it remains to be seen exactly when Apple Intelligence will debut in China, but in any case, iOS 18.6 will see a full public release more than a year after Apple Intelligence was officially announced at WWDC 2024.