At 12:00 AM Beijing Time on March 31, 2026, Apple's generative AI service Apple Intelligence was activated in batches for the China version Beta on some devices that have been upgraded to iOS 26.4 and above. Although this feature brought a new Siri interface and included core collaboration tools such as photo removal, intelligent emojis, real-time translation, and visual intelligence, many users reported that the activation process was unstable, and the key GPT extension plugin could not be used normally.

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However, this highly anticipated launch was soon suspected to be an "error." According to the latest news from Mark Gurman, a well-known senior reporter at Bloomberg, the activation of Apple Intelligence in the China region was an unplanned accidental release. Gurman pointed out that although the relevant features had been technically ready for several months, Apple had not yet received final approval from Chinese regulatory authorities, and there is currently no clear plan for an upcoming release. This incident is also unrelated to the ongoing iOS 26.5 testing cycle.

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Evidence supporting the "accidental release" theory is very obvious: first, Apple rarely releases major features in strategic markets like China without official announcements; second, launching at night does not align with its usual product release rhythm; the most critical evidence is that the Google reverse image search function included in this test version cannot connect normally within China.

Currently, Apple has taken emergency measures to remove it. Many users have reported that after clicking download in the "Apple Intelligence and Siri" settings, the progress bar no longer appears. This incident once again reflects the compliance challenges and technical complexity faced by top-end device manufacturers when rolling out AI services in China.