Alibaba is getting into the AI input method game. The company's Qwen team has launched a standalone website for its new keyboard app, Qwen Input, and is already offering a macOS client for download. The iOS, Android, and Windows versions are listed as 'coming soon.'
What's the big deal? The input method is built around intelligent voice recognition, with claimed speeds of up to 300 characters per minute. It can handle mixed Chinese-English input and nine dialects, and includes an AI auto-polish feature. The company promises it's ad-free.
A look under the hood reveals the macOS client (version 1.0.0.13, built on June 26) is based on the open-source Rime input method engine, which already supports double pinyin and other layouts. The architecture includes dedicated bridging components (libqianwen_voice_backend_contract.dylib and friends) to handle voice processing locally and in the cloud.