When you visit the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro sites of any country in the European Union, such as Spain, Germany, and France, you’ll notice that there’s no mention of Apple Intelligence. Not a single one. Apple doesn’t mention the feature on the iOS 18 page of these countries either. Why? Simply because it won’t be available in the EU.
In fact, this is the biggest difference between the iPhone 16 models in the EU and the rest of the world, including the U.S., but it’s not the only one.
No Apple Intelligence for the EU. Apple’s AI features won’t initially be available in any European Union countries. The company already announced this when it made the iOS 18.1 developer beta release notes public, stating that “Apple Intelligence is not currently available in the EU or China.” In the Apple Intelligence press release, Apple also states that the feature will only be available for the Mac (and not the iPhone and the iPad) in these countries.
The DMA is to blame. In June, Apple announced that it wouldn’t offer Apple Intelligence options in the EU “due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act (DMA).” Apple officials stated, “We are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security.” Because of this, Apple wants to avoid potential conflicts with the law and won’t offer Apple Intelligence or other new software options on iPhones.
Potential violations of the DMA. Apple fears that requiring its systems to be more open under the DMA will force it to expose sensitive data to third parties, which could weaken its security protocols. According to the company, this conflicts with its focus on privacy.
Available on Mac. As mentioned earlier, in the EU, Apple Intelligence will be available for the Mac. In fact, it’ll be available in beta on macOS Sequoia 15.1 next month, with new features to be added in the coming months. To access it, users will need a Mac with the M1 chip or, later, Siri, and the device language set to U.S. English. Unlike iPhones, Macs are a more open platform and allow software to be installed from sources other than the App Store, meeting the DMA requirement for increased interoperability.
Will these features come to the iPhone in the EU? There’s no confirmation yet, but Apple will certainly fight it. For these options to be available on iPhones in the EU, the company needs to ensure that they comply with regulations. However, for the time being, the tech giant acknowledges that there’s a risk of non-compliance.
Recent rulings, such as the one requiring Apple to open its ecosystem to third-party apps, have led to the development of two different versions of the iPhone: one for the EU and one for the rest of the world. It seems complicated for Apple and the EU to reach an understanding at the moment.
Other missing features. In addition to Apple Intelligence, other options not available for EU users include the inability to mirror the iPhone on Macs and the absence of SharePlay Screen Sharing for screen sharing between different devices in the Apple ecosystem.
Two-speed AI implementation not limited to Apple. The DMA is also the reason why Microsoft Copilot isn’t available in Windows 11 in the EU. These features, which have been available for months in the rest of the world, haven’t yet reached EU users. Like Apple, Microsoft doesn’t want to risk potential fines for violating this regulation.
Image | Apple
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