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What's the Difference Between Qianwen App and Tongyi App?
"Qianwen App" and "Tongyi App" are actually the same thing. Tongyi came first, and was later renamed to Qianwen—they are not two separate products.
The current "Qianwen App" is just the former "Tongyi App" with a new name. The underlying technology and model are both Alibaba's own Tongyi Qianwen large model. So the "Qianwen" you see, download, and use today is essentially the continuation and upgrade of the old "Tongyi." Below is an explanation from three major perspectives:
Name and Positioning
In May 2024, Alibaba Cloud renamed "Tongyi Qianwen App" to "Tongyi App," calling it a "full-featured AI assistant."
In November 2025, "Tongyi App" was renamed again to "Qianwen App," with a new slogan "Alibaba's most powerful model official AI assistant." The App Store version number jumped directly from 3.6 to 5.0, signaling a major update.
Interface and Interaction
The old Tongyi App placed features like Q&A, translation, writing, and code on a single page. It had plenty of features, but looked a bit cluttered.
The new Qianwen App divides the main interface into three sections: chat in the middle, swipe left to view history, swipe right to enter the agent marketplace. It also introduced for the first time a default avatar resembling a "girl next door," making the chat feel more like having a companion.
Model and Capabilities
During the Tongyi era, models such as Qwen2.5 and QwQ-preview were already in use.
After the rename to Qianwen, the default model is the latest open-source reasoning model QwQ-32B, which performs comparably to DeepSeek-R1 in math, code writing, and logical reasoning, and can also be deployed locally at low cost.
Key Differences Between Qianwen App and Tongyi App
| Dimension | Tongyi App (Old) | Qianwen App (New) |
|---|---|---|
| Branding & Positioning | Early Alibaba AI application brand, leaning toward tech showcase and feature aggregation | Personal AI assistant for the general public, emphasizing "chat well, get things done" |
| Launch & Timeline | 2024.05 Launch of "Tongyi" | Renamed to "Qianwen" from 2025.11.14; public beta and simultaneous release of web and PC versions on 2025.11.17 |
| Model & Capabilities | Built on the Qwen series capabilities, covering common conversation and tools | Home page allows switching between Qwen-Qianwen (general) and Qwen-Max (stronger reasoning/coding); provides around 14 common feature entries |
| Feature Examples | Smart writing, document reading, translation, photo problem-solving, AI image generation, etc. | New and enhanced features on top of the originals: AI photo editing, AI video generation, PPT creation, deep research, video calls, real-time recording, phone calls, audio & video quick-reading |
| Ecosystem & Integration | Comprehensive features, but relatively limited ecosystem linkage | Planned integration with Alibaba ecosystem services such as maps, food delivery, ticketing, office, learning, shopping, and health, strengthening the "getting things done" capability |
| Platform & Pricing | Primarily mobile | Provides App, Web version, PC version; currently free-oriented, convenient for daily use |
| Market Performance | As of September 2025, approx. 3.06 million monthly active users | Popularity rose after the rename, once reaching No. 4 on the App Store free overall chart (during public beta) |
| Account & Data | Old "Tongyi" account | Directly upgraded to "Qianwen"; history conversations and data retained and continued |
How to Choose
If you were already using "Tongyi," there is no need to reinstall or migrate data. Simply upgrade to Qianwen App, and your previous chat history and materials will be kept.
If you are a new user, just install Qianwen App, or use the web or PC version to get the same experience as Tongyi, along with gradual access to new features and more services.
