Apple Warns iPhone AI Features Delayed For Millions Of Users To 2025

If you thought you’d heard the end of the upheaval the Digital Markets Act had caused for the iPhone, think again. Apple has warned that the latest flagship Apple Intelligence features coming this fall will not roll out in Europe. Since these features will come to all iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 devices, it will add up to millions of users.

Apple is “blaming ‘uncertainties’ stemming from Brussels’ new competition rules,” a new report in the Financial Times says. Apple Intelligence was the blockbuster update at this year’s World Wide Developers Conference, with many features announced on Monday, June 10.

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The DMA only applies to countries in the European Union, but, as ever, you can be sure that other countries such as the U.S. and U.K. will be watching closely to see the effects of the act, with a view to implementing something similar.

We’re in new territory here: while there are plenty of Apple iPhone features which have had to be amended to fit with the DMA, this is the first time that new elements which are planned to be implemented have been delayed for certain countries because of it.

Apple says that it is blaming “complexities in making the system compatible with EU rules that have forced it to make key parts of its iOS software and App Store services interoperable with third parties.”

In a statement on Friday, June 22, “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.”

While iPhone Mirroring, where you can interact with your iPhone from your Mac screen, and SharePlay Screen Sharing are cool in their own right, there’s no doubt that the lion’s share of AI goodies are part of Apple Intelligence.

The timing is interesting. Just weeks ago, it was reported that the EU regulators are about to accuse Apple of breaking rules introduced in the DMA.

This latest step in the regulatory battle between the EU and Apple could mean iPhone users in Europe will lack one of the key iOS 18 upgrades for months or even years.

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