Apple delays European launch of AI features because of EU rules

Apple has warned that it will not roll out the iPhone’s flagship new artificial intelligence features in Europe when they launch elsewhere this year, blaming “uncertainties” stemming from Brussels’ new competition rules.

The iPhone maker unveiled features two weeks ago, including a suite of “Apple Intelligence” services and a partnership with OpenAI, in what chief executive Tim Cook described as its “next big step” propelling the tech giant into the age of generative AI.

But Apple on Friday said complexities in making the system compatible with EU rules — which have forced it to make critical parts of its iOS software and App Store services interoperable with third parties — meant EU users will be denied certain features when they launch in other parts of the world later in 2024.

Apple said on Friday: “Due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act, we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these [new] features — iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements and Apple Intelligence — to our EU users this year.”

The DMA is the bloc’s flagship digital rule book, aimed at enabling local start-ups to better compete with Big Tech companies, most of whom are US-based. Among other requirements, the DMA forces large digital platforms to legally share data with others and it bans them from ranking their own services above rivals’.

Apple and Brussels have been caught in a regulatory battle over its compliance with the rules for months, after the EU opened a probe in March to examine whether the company is still undermining competition.

Apple Intelligence is a suite of the group’s own generative AI models that unlock new features such as writing aids, image and emoji generation, and a more powerful Siri assistant. These are personalised to the user and processed on customers’ iPhones and in Apple’s data centres, which the company said brings an important layer of privacy and security.

The partnership with OpenAI, meanwhile, allows users to route more complex queries out of Apple’s ecosystem to ChatGPT, which is underpinned by one of the world’s most powerful generative AI models. Apple has said it could strike further such partnerships with the likes of Google Gemini.

The two other enhancements to the next version of Apple’s operating systems facing delay in the EU allow users to control their iPhone from their Mac PC and share access to their device.

Apple said it hoped to bring the features to EU users eventually but that it has to vet them carefully in order to make sure they do not fall foul of EU rules.

For the rest of the world, Apple Intelligence is expected to roll out with iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia later this year.

“We are highly motivated to make these technologies accessible to all users,” Apple said on Friday. Analysts have said the AI features could provide an incentive for iPhone owners to upgrade to new models.

Due to the hardware requirements for running AI models, Apple Intelligence will only run on the latest iPhones equipped with the A17 Pro chip and Macs and iPads equipped with the newer M series of chips.

Apple said it needs clarity from the European Commission over the level of access that it would need to grant to third parties to its Apple Intelligence features, as well as device-sharing. The iPhone maker has long criticised the DMA, saying it exposes users to privacy risks by eroding its tight control of the Apple software ecosystem.

Apple is not the first Big Tech company to see its AI road map disrupted by EU rules. Earlier this month, Meta said it would not launch its latest AI models in Europe, under pressure from data protection watchdogs.

The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, said: “The EU is an attractive market of 450mn potential users, and has always been open for business for any company that wants to provide services in the European internal market.

“Gatekeepers are welcome to offer their services in Europe, provided that they comply with our rules aimed at ensuring fair competition.”

Apple’s warning comes after the Financial Times reported earlier this month that regulators in Brussels are set to accuse Apple of breaking DMA rules in the coming weeks.