Apple Intelligence features briefly appeared to some iPhone users in China within the Settings app, despite Apple not having received official approval from Chinese regulatory authorities. According to journalist Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, the appearance was an unintentional technical "glitch," and Apple swiftly intervened to withdraw and remove the features from the menus. Gurman noted that Apple would not launch such a feature without a prior official announcement, especially not in the middle of the night, China local time. Another technical reason cited for the incident is that the feature relies in some functions on the Google image search engine, and Google services are completely banned in China. China imposes strict restrictions on foreign AI technologies, requiring any company to undergo rigorous testing and official approval from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Apple is reportedly seeking a potential collaboration with Alibaba to operate AI features within China using local servers and models that comply with security and political requirements. Meanwhile, local competitors such as Huawei and Xiaomi have already integrated a wide range of AI features into their phones, putting Apple in a difficult position in the Chinese market, which is considered vital to the company.