{"id":68914,"date":"2026-06-08T21:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.apfelpatient.de\/?p=68914"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:36:21","slug":"siri-ai-eu-dma-delay-iphone-ipad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apfelpatient.de\/en\/news\/siri-ai-eu-dma-verzoegerung-iphone-ipad","title":{"rendered":"Siri AI in the EU: DMA delays launch on iPhone and iPad"},"content":{"rendered":"

It's the downside of the big WWDC presentation: Apple has confirmed that the new Siri AI will not be launched on iPhones and iPads in the European Union for the time being. The Digital Markets Act is to blame \u2013 there is no timetable for a later rollout. Macs, Apple Watches, and Apple Vision Pro remain exempt.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sooner had Apple unveiled its revamped Siri than users in Germany and the rest of the EU were met with disappointment: Siri AI will not be available on iPhones and iPads in these countries with the launch of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. Apple cites the Digital Markets Act (DMA) as the reason, explaining that EU regulators have not accepted any of the proposed solutions over the past few months. This move is part of a long-simmering conflict in which Apple recently even sided with Google in the EU DMA dispute<\/a>. Software chief Craig Federighi expressed deep disappointment that EU users will be missing Siri AI on their iPhones and iPads, emphasizing that while they hope for a later rollout, they currently have no timeframe for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What iPhone and iPad users in the EU are missing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 are released later this year, users in the EU will not have access to Siri AI and its enhanced capabilities<\/a> on these two platforms. This includes the standalone Continue Conversations app, the improved Visual Intelligence, the integrated writing tools, Siri Mode in the iOS Camera app, and the other Siri AI features presented at WWDC. Developers based in the EU will also be unable to test or use the new Siri AI features for their own apps on iOS and iPadOS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation is different on other platforms: macOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27 will also receive Siri AI in the EU, provided a supported language is selected. The restriction therefore specifically targets iPhones and iPads \u2013 the devices that shape the daily lives of most people using Apple products. The other new Apple intelligence features<\/a> in Photos, Safari, and Image Playground, which are also scheduled to be released in German this fall, are exempt from the block. All 27 member states are affected, including Germany, Austria, and the other EU countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple's reasoning: Data protection and security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Apple presents the decision as a consequence of its own security philosophy. Siri AI is designed from the ground up to be privacy-friendly and is deeply integrated into the platforms via on-device processing and private cloud computing. According to Apple, however, the regulators' \u2013 from the company's perspective \u2013 extreme interpretation of the Data Access Directive (DMA) would require any virtual assistant to have direct access to private user data and control over other installed apps as soon as Siri AI is available in the EU, without the safeguards that Apple considers necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, Apple describes<\/a> the requirement as follows: The DMA forces every AI system to be granted virtually unlimited access to the device, including the ability to act independently without users being able to continuously monitor and control it. This includes reading and sending messages, making purchases, accessing files, and performing actions across any app. Apple points out that security researchers have already demonstrated how AI systems can be hijacked to steal personal data such as passwords and photos, or to permanently modify files and account settings without consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rejected compromise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a solution, Apple designed what it called a Trusted System Agent \u2013 an intermediary that would allow virtual assistants in the EU secure access to the same functions as Siri AI. The company also presented a plan to launch Siri AI in the EU and roll out this new solution gradually over an 18-month period. The European Commission rejected this and, according to Apple, did not approve any of the proposals. Therefore, there is no timetable for the introduction of Siri AI on iOS and iPadOS in the EU; Apple states that it will continue working on the most secure solution possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the DMA dispute is essentially about<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Behind the conflict lies the interoperability obligation of the Digital Markets Act. This obliges companies classified as gatekeepers to grant third-party providers the same effective access to system and hardware functions used by their own services. Applied to AI assistants, this means, from the Commission's perspective, that competing assistants should, in principle, have the same capabilities as Siri \u2013 so that users have a genuine choice and the market for AI assistants remains open. As recently as January 2026, the Commission initiated similar proceedings against Google to ensure that third-party providers have equivalent access to the same Android functions used by Google's own AI services, such as Gemini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is precisely where opinions diverge: What regulators see as a fair competitive condition, Apple considers a loophole that cannot be securely closed. This tension between open platform and controlled system runs through almost all AI debates in Europe and also shapes Apple's considerations regarding future freedom of choice in AI assistants<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An open ending, as predicted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Apple, the decision is a double-edged sword: On the one hand, the company is once again portraying itself as a champion of privacy, while on the other hand, its most loyal iPhone and iPad users in one of its most important markets will have to do without the year's key software highlight. The fact that Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro remain unaffected in the EU also shows that the blockage is not technical in nature, but rather stems from the regulatory classification of iPhones and iPads as core platforms. Whether the new Siri will make the leap across the Atlantic now depends less on Apple's developers than on an agreement between Cupertino and Brussels \u2013 and there is currently no date set for that. (Image: Apple)<\/p>\n\n\n\n