The brand new iOS 27 Siri AI experiences will not be coming to users in the European Union at the same time as everyone else. In a company press release that directly blames the Digital Markets Act, Apple says iPhone and iPad users in the EU will have to wait longer for Siri AI.
However, Siri AI will still be launching on Mac and Apple Vision Pro in the EU, as those platforms are not subject to the same gatekeeper requirements …
(Siri AI will also not be available for Apple Watch in the EU region, as the feature requires using a watch in conjunction with a paired iPhone that has Siri AI enabled.)
Impacted features include the new Siri, updated writing tools, Siri mode in the Camera app, and more.
As of right now, Apple does not have a timeline as to when it will be able to launch these features in the EU.
Top comment by JanK.
Apple is so unbelievably slow by launching worldwide language support that is really a big shame for a rich company like Apple. Why another companies does have support of many languages from the scratch and Apple just starts with English?
There is no excuse for this ignorance of another languages. Not anymore. All the language models are based on the new approach to be able to support all world languages from the very beginning. But Apple is so lazy, poorly developed and keeps underestimating this very basic stuff that I would call it Apple’s ignorance and arrogance.
Of course, this is nothing new about Apple’s misbehaviour, but every time something unbelievably bad and sad that we have to keep mentioning it and remembering Apple that the world is not just English-speaking people. There is much more language diversity in the world. It cannot be said that Apple is diversity-friendly company until Apple will let this mistreatment of the rest of the world.
Siri AI necessitates deep access to user data and system functionality. The EU will not let Apple launch these features until it is possible for third-party AI providers to also offer similar functionality. While Apple can ensure that Siri handles user data in a privacy-preserving way, it cannot guarantee the same for other companies looking to integrate.
Apple says it has been negotiating with EU regulators over the last several months to try and find a solution, but to no avail. The company says it even developed a new layer called ‘Trusted System Agent’ to coordinate access to such sensitive data, but the EU rejected the proposals.
As such, it is currently at an impasse. Here’s what Apple SVP Craig Federighi said on the matter:
“We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Our hope is to eventually bring Siri AI to the EU, and we will continue to engage with EU regulators on a path forward. However, their refusal to engage constructively on solutions that preserve privacy and security means we do not currently have a timeline for Siri AI’s availability on iOS and iPadOS in the EU.”
Hopefully, the dispute can be resolved over the coming months and EU customers will get access to the same cool new Siri features that the rest of the world will enjoy.
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