Apple’s ambitious “Apple Intelligence” and revamped Siri are becoming a flashpoint between the company and European regulators, leaving EU iPhone and iPad owners without a launch date while the same features roll out elsewhere.

WWDC launch, immediate EU caveats

At WWDC 2026, Apple unveiled a rebuilt Siri AI assistant and broader Apple Intelligence features designed to work deeply across apps, messages, photos, and files.¹ Within hours, Apple confirmed that when iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 ship later this year, Siri AI will not be available on iPhone or iPad in the European Union, marking the second major delay of Apple Intelligence in the bloc and this time “with no timeline” for release.²

The restriction is limited to iOS and iPadOS: EU users will still get Siri AI on macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27, platforms not classed as “gatekeepers” under EU rules.³

Apple’s case: DMA demands threaten privacy and security

Apple publicly blamed the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), arguing that the Commission’s interpretation would force it to give any third‑party virtual assistant “the same deep system access that Siri AI receives,” including reading and sending messages, making purchases, accessing files, and taking actions in apps — but “without what it calls ‘essential protections’ for user visibility and control.”³ The company says security research shows AI systems can be hijacked to steal data or alter settings, and insists it “would rather withhold Siri AI from Europe than build it on Brussels’ terms and let others in.”¹

Apple proposed a “Trusted System Agent” as a secure intermediary and asked for up to 18 months to roll it out gradually, but says EU regulators rejected “every proposal.”¹³ Senior executives have framed the standoff as a consequence of what they describe as the EU’s “strict interpretation” of the DMA.¹

EU response and broader industry debate

The European Commission counters that the DMA “does not prohibit new product launches” and says nothing in the law prevents Apple from offering Siri AI if it develops compliant interoperability.¹ Regulators accuse the company of using security arguments to entrench its own assistant and “stifling competition.”¹

The impasse lands amid a wider industry push toward more open, locally run AI models. One influential AI founder amplified a call for Apple’s leadership to “go all in on workstations that can run local, open source models,” tying hardware decisions to the economics of running AI and the need for an “open source champion.”clem 🤗 (ClementDelangue)⁴

For now, EU iPhone and iPad users are caught in the middle. Apple says it is “deeply disappointed” and sees no path forward under current conditions,³ while Brussels signals the door is open — if Apple is willing to share more access with rivals on its most important mobile platform.