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Apple has announced that it’s going to not launch the iPhone's latest, groundbreaking artificial intelligence features in Europe this 12 months once they launch elsewhere, citing “uncertainties” arising from latest Brussels competition rules.
The iPhone maker unveiled latest features two weeks ago, including a collection of “Apple Intelligence” services and a partnership with OpenAI, with CEO Tim Cook calling it the “next big step” that may catapult the tech giant into the age of generative artificial intelligence.
But Apple said on Friday that the complexity of adapting the system to EU rules – which have forced the corporate to make critical parts of its iOS software and App Store services compatible with third-party developers – would mean that EU users can be denied certain features when the system launches in other parts of the world later in 2024.
Apple said on Friday: “Due to the regulatory uncertainties caused by the Digital Markets Act, we don’t imagine we’ll give you the option to make three of those (latest) features – iPhone mirroring, SharePlay screen sharing extensions and Apple Intelligence – available to our EU users this 12 months.”
The DMA is the bloc's foremost digital rulebook and is designed to enable local startups to raised compete with big tech firms, most of that are based within the US. Among other things, the DMA forces large digital platforms to legally share data with others and prohibits them from rating their very own services higher than those of competitors.
Apple and Brussels have been locked in a regulatory dispute over compliance for months after the EU launched an investigation in March to look at whether the corporate continues to undermine competition.
Apple Intelligence is a collection of proprietary generative AI models that unlock latest features like writing assistance, image and emoji generation, and a more powerful Siri assistant. These are tailored to the user and processed on customers' iPhones and in Apple's data centers, which the corporate says provides a crucial layer of privacy and security.
The partnership with OpenAI allows users to forward more complex requests from Apple's ecosystem to ChatGPT, which is powered by one in every of the world's strongest generative AI models. Apple has said it might enter into more such partnerships with firms comparable to Google Gemini.
The other two improvements in the following version of Apple's operating systems, that are facing delays within the EU, allow users to manage their iPhone from their Mac PC and share access to their device.
Apple said it hopes to eventually make the features available to EU users, but that it might have to fastidiously review them to make sure they don’t violate EU regulations.
In the remaining of the world, Apple Intelligence is anticipated to launch later this 12 months with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
“We are highly motivated to make these technologies available to all users,” Apple said on Friday. Analysts say the AI features could provide an incentive for iPhone owners to upgrade to latest models.
Due to the hardware requirements for running AI models, Apple Intelligence only runs on the newest iPhones with the A17 Pro chip, in addition to Macs and iPads with the newer M series of chips.
Apple said it needs clarity from the European Commission on the extent of access it must grant third parties to its Apple Intelligence features in addition to device sharing. The iPhone maker has long criticized the DMA, saying it exposes users to privacy risks by undermining its tight control over Apple's software ecosystem.
Apple shouldn’t be the primary major tech company to have its AI roadmap thwarted by EU regulations. Earlier this month, Meta said it might not launch its latest AI models in Europe following pressure from data protection authorities.
The European Commission, the EU's executive body, stated: “The EU is a lovely market with 450 million potential users and has at all times been open to any company wishing to supply services within the European single market.”
“Gatekeepers are welcome to supply their services in Europe so long as they comply with our rules to make sure fair competition.”
Apple's warning comes after the Financial Times reported earlier this month that regulators in Brussels will accuse Apple of violating DMA rules in the approaching weeks.
