Apple Intelligence Won’t Launch in the EU This Year Due to DMA Compliance Concerns

Apple announced today that Apple Intelligence and other new features it recently revealed at its WWDC keynote won’t be launching in the EU later this year. The company is taking a cautious approach regarding the rollout of its generative AI technology and other new features such as iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay Screen Sharing as they may not be compliant with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

“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,” Apple said in a statement shared with Bloomberg.

iOS is one of the large digital platforms that the EU Commission has designated as a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act. As a result, Apple has been forced to allow alternative app stores, browser engines, and payment systems on iOS in the EU. The company is also forbidden from treating its services more favorably than third-party services also available on its platform.

If Apple fails to comply with the DMA, the company could face fines of up to 10% of its total worldwide annual turnover or up to 20% in the event of repeated infringements. And the EU Commission already has Apple in its crosshairs: Back in March, the EU regulator fined Apple €1.8 billion for abusing its position in music streaming.

Apple Intelligence will launch in beta later this fall on the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and iPad and Mac models with M-Series chips. At launch, the generative AI features will only be available in US English, with additional languages coming next year.

On supported devices, Apple Intelligence will offer new writing and image creation tools that will be available across Apple apps as well as third-party apps thanks to new APIs. Apple’s Siri assistant is also being revamped with more intelligent features.

Apple will integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Siri and its writing tools, and the company said at WWDC that it’s willing to make other generative AI models available via Apple Intelligence. Still, the EU Commission may see Apple Intelligence as the default AI solution on iOS that leaves little room for the competition.

On its website, Apple describes Apple Intelligence as “AI for the rest of us.” This probably gives us an idea of Apple’s ambition with its own generative AI technology.