With iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, several central AI features from Apple remain unavailable in the European Union for the time being. Apple confirmed this in an official statement in the Apple Newsroom on June 8, 2026. With the third developer beta of iOS 27, which Apple released on July 6, 2026 according to MacRumors, nothing has changed so far – the affected features are still missing.
What EU users are specifically missing
According to Apple’s own listing, several features are unavailable in the EU at the launch of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27: the redesigned, chatbot-like Siri AI itself, a standalone app for reviewing previous conversations, enhanced visual intelligence features, system-wide integrated writing tools, and a new Siri mode in the camera app. The Siri AI connection linked to an iPhone on watchOS 27 is also affected. As MacRumors reports, the new Tap-to-Share feature is additionally missing – though this is blocked not only in the EU but also in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. According to Apple, the operating systems macOS 27 and visionOS 27 are not affected by the restriction: Siri AI is expected to be available in the EU there as usual.
Apple’s account: a rejected security concept
Apple justifies the delay with the interoperability obligations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). According to the company, these require competing virtual assistants to get direct access to private user data and the ability to control apps on the device – without, in Apple’s view, sufficient security safeguards being mandated. As a solution, Apple proposed an intermediary system to the EU Commission called “Trusted System Agent,” through which competing assistants could securely access the relevant functions, with a planned rollout period of 18 months. The Commission rejected this and all other proposals. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, is quoted in the statement saying: “We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad.”
The EU Commission’s counter-account
The EU Commission clearly disputes Apple’s version of events. Speaking to journalists, Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said, according to reporting by TechTimes, that nothing in the DMA prevents Apple from launching new products in the EU: “The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is solely up to Apple.” Instead of pursuing a solution compatible with the DMA, Apple merely requested an exemption from the interoperability obligations for at least 18 months – something the Commission finds unacceptable. Regnier cited competitive concerns as the reason: such an exemption would mean no other AI agent would have the same chance of being chosen by iPhone users as Siri AI, which itself relies on technology from Google in the background. EU law is also non-negotiable, Regnier added, comparing it to a police officer who exempts no one from a speed limit.
Two contradictory positions, no timeline
That leaves two opposing accounts: Apple points to what it sees as excessive, security-risky DMA requirements, while the Commission frames it as a business decision by Apple not to have presented an adequate technical solution. There is no independent assessment publicly available of which account is accurate. Neither Apple nor the EU Commission has given a specific date by which Siri AI and the other features might become available to EU users. With the third developer beta in early July and the public release of iOS 27 approaching, the blockade remains in place for now.
Context
The case fits into a longer-running dispute between large US technology companies and the EU Commission over the interpretation of the Digital Markets Act, which obliges gatekeeper platforms to ensure interoperability with competitors. For Apple, this is not the first such dispute following earlier delays to Apple Intelligence features in the EU. For users in the EU, the current situation means they will have to do without some of the new AI features when they switch to iOS 27, while these remain available as usual in other regions of the world. Whether and when that changes depends on whether Apple and the EU Commission still reach a mutually accepted technical solution in the coming months.
