Apple announced that its redesigned Siri AI will not launch in the EU on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or watchOS 27, citing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) as a barrier to safe integration. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, expressed disappointment, noting that EU regulators rejected proposed compliance solutions over “the past several months.” Apple claims the DMA’s interpretation would force unsafe access to user data by rival assistants. Siri AI will, however, be available on macOS 27 and visionOS 27 for EU users. The DMA was passed in 2022 to curb Big Tech anticompetitive behaviour.
In-Depth:
Enforcement of Europe’s Digital Markets Act means Apple can’t launch the system safely within the EU, the company stated.
Apple’s new AI interface ‘Siri AI’ will not be available to EU utilizers of its phones, tablets and smart watches when the company launches its new operating systems for the devices later this year.
The company stated that due to restrictions set out and enforceable by Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), it could not safely integrate Siri AI into ‘iOS 27’, ‘iPadOS 27’ and ‘watchOS 27’ running on European iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.
Apple stated that solutions on a compliant integration of Siri AI for European utilizers, which could also support other, rival virtual assistants in a safe manner, that it proposed to the EU over “the past several months” had not been accepted.
“We’re deeply disappointed that our EU utilizers won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year,” stated 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.”
The disagreement centres on what Apple stated is Europe’s “extreme interpretation of the DMA” that would require the company to give any rival virtual assistant “direct access to utilizers’ private data – and the ability to directly control other installed applications – as soon as Siri AI is created available in the EU, without the essential protections necessary to keep utilizers and their data safe”.
Apple demonstrated the newly redesigned AI interface at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday (8 June), but stated “clear dangers to EU utilizers” and “regulators’ failure to acknowledge these risks” would lock out its availability in the bloc.
The company stated, however, that EU utilizers of its computers and mixed reality headsets will be able to access Siri AI on macOS 27 and visionOS 27, respectively.
Forrester vice president and principal analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee described the new, updated AI integration as “a far more capable, context-aware, conversational assistant”, but stated its success would “hinge on delivering the new Siri experience quickly, and ensuring it works as promised for iPhone utilizers at scale”.
Apple has previously advocated that the EU obtain rid of the DMA, claiming that the antitrust legislation is “forcing” the company to build “concerning modifys” to how it delivers its services to European utilizers.
Passed in 2022, the DMA aims to crack down on anticompetitive behaviour from Big Tech companies and level the online digital market space.
Last summer, Apple modifyd its App Store policies for EU utilizers in an effort to comply with the DMA.
In April the company announced plans for a leadership transition from Tim Cook to John Ternus, shortly before reporting its “best March quarter ever” with revenue of $111.2bn.
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