Apple Intelligence will not be launched within the EU in 2024 because of privacy and security concerns, the US group has revealed.
That means iPhone owners within the EU will not be able to plug into new Apple artificial intelligence (AI) features, such as Apple Intelligence, improvements to the SharePlay screen-sharing feature and iPhone Mirroring. The features, expected to be released later this year, will not come to the EU, because of the recent Digital Markets Act (DMA) that has led to increased regulatory complications.
Apple says one of the main requirements of the DMA, interoperability, conflicts with its own stance on privacy and security concerns.
Interoperability means that key features such as texting, calling, voice messages, and the sharing of images and videos, should work across third-party operators and competing devices.
The Digital Markets Act aims at ensuring the major tech companies - the Magnificent Seven, including Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft - do not gate-keep certain technologies or features. Other companies such as ByteDance, the owner of social media platform TikTok are also significantly impacted by the DMA.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer (CEO) at Apple said: "We're thrilled to introduce a new chapter in Apple innovation. Apple Intelligence will transform what users can do with our products - and what our products can do for our users. Our unique approach combines generative AI with a user's personal context to deliver truly helpful intelligence.
"And it can access that information in a completely private and secure way to help users do the things that matter most to them. This is AI as only Apple can deliver it, and we can't wait for users to experience what it can do."
How does the DMA impact Apple?
The DMA mainly impacts iPads and iPhones, due to the interoperability requirement. However, there is still a spillover effect to other devices such as Macbooks, due to features such as iPhone Mirroring working across different devices.
One of the main ways that the DMA could also potentially impact Apple is by severely restricting the rollout and adoption of its flagship artificial intelligence technology in the EU. Apple's AI features have made big strides in the past few years, such as improving writing and communication features, to proof read, rewrite and summarise text across Notes, Mail, Pages and a variety of third-party applications.
Other changes include intuitive improvements to notifications, depending on which apps or chats on a user's device are the most active or frequently used. The company has also enhanced images, with things such as Image Playground, which offers features such as Sketch, Illustration and Animation.
Furthermore, Siri has also been taken to the next level, with far better language-understanding features for a more natural, personal and contextually relevant manner.
