TLDR
- Alibaba (BABA) stock rose about 5.7% on Monday to $103.58 after Apple chose Qwen for Apple Intelligence in China.
- Qwen features hit the iOS developer beta on Nov. 4, with a wider release in December via iOS 27.3.
- Users can reach Qwen through Siri, Apple’s writing tools and visual intelligence.
- Citi kept its Buy rating and $193 price target.
- Morgan Stanley rates the stock Overweight and calls it a Top Pick.
Alibaba (BABA) stock climbed 5.7% on Monday to $103.58. The move followed news that Apple will build Alibaba’s Qwen AI models into Apple Intelligence in China.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA
Apple announced the deal on Saturday. It brings the company’s long-awaited AI services to iPhone users in China.
Qwen-powered features will be open for testing from Nov. 4 in the latest iOS developer beta. A broader rollout comes in December with iOS 27.3.
Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said the company was “delighted to partner with Apple.” He said Qwen will be deeply integrated across the Apple ecosystem.
The deal is reportedly the first time Apple has used a local AI company’s models in its system-level AI for a major region. That makes China a first in this setup.
How Qwen Will Work on iPhones
Chinese users will reach Qwen through Siri, Apple’s writing tools and its visual intelligence feature. Siri can call on Qwen’s broader knowledge to answer some requests directly.
Users can also ask questions about selected photos and documents. That includes PDF files and presentations.
A “Compose with Qwen” function will create original text and images from a prompt. In visual intelligence, users can tap “Ask Qwen” to learn about objects and places.
Apple said users will be asked for permission before a question, document or image goes to Qwen. They can choose whether to turn the integration on.
Sign-in works through Apple or an existing Qwen account. Alibaba said requests and responses will not be used to train its models.
China’s cyberspace regulator registered Apple’s on-device generative AI service for iPhones in July. That cleared a major regulatory hurdle.
The first batch of features also includes real-time translation and photo object removal. Notification and email summaries, smart replies, and text rewriting tools are part of it too.
The December update will not include the advanced Siri features shown at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this year. Supported devices include the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 and later models. The iPhone Air and iPhone Duo are also covered, with device and Siri languages set to English or Simplified Chinese.
Analysts Weigh In
Citi reaffirmed its Buy rating on Monday. The firm said the Apple tie-up could speed up Qwen adoption and lift demand on Alibaba’s cloud infrastructure, which handles AI inference.
Citi’s price target stands at $193. Morgan Stanley holds an Overweight rating and named Alibaba a Top Pick, and both firms pointed to growing AI revenue at Alibaba Cloud.
Qwen testing begins on Nov. 4, with the full consumer launch set for December.
Alibaba Group shares rose 5.7% on Monday to $103.58 following Apple’s decision to use Alibaba’s Qwen AI model as the foundation for Apple Intelligence in China.
