Apple blames DMA, delays Siri AI in EU

Apple posted an update on June 8 stating that Siri AI, the company's revamped assistant introduced at WWDC26, will not be shipped on iPhone or iPad in the European Union with the upcoming iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 releases, while remaining available on macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 (Apple newsroom). The Apple newsroom post and a statement attributed to Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering, said EU regulators refused to engage constructively on proposed solutions to deliver Siri AI while preserving privacy and security, and that the company therefore has no current timeline for availability on iOS and iPadOS in the EU (Apple newsroom).

Public reporting frames the core technical tension as interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) versus the deep system-level access modern assistants request. The DMA requires designated gatekeepers to permit rival services certain interoperability and data access; Apple's filings and public post characterise that access as including cross-app capabilities and handling of personal data. Industry coverage notes these requirements are technically challenging for assistants that integrate across messages, photos, and third-party apps because of privacy controls, platform APIs, and sandboxing models (Apple newsroom; The Verge; Bloomberg).

EU regulators told reporters they rejected Apple's request for an 18-month exemption from interoperability obligations and said the choice not to roll out Siri AI on iPhone or iPad "is Apple's and Apple's only," according to Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier (Reuters; Politico). Reuters additionally reported the Commission said Apple had been unable to develop interoperability solutions that meet "essential EU privacy and security standards" and that exemptions from DMA obligations are not available (Reuters). Reuters also noted Europe accounted for nearly 27% of Apple's total sales in its last fiscal year, highlighting commercial scale (Reuters).

observers should track whether Apple and the European Commission move from public statements to specific technical guidance or negotiated compliance mechanisms. Reporting says Apple asked to be exempted for at least 18 months, a request the Commission turned down (Reuters). Key signals include published interoperability specifications or test cases from the Commission, any technical proposals Apple files publicly, and whether Apple limits Siri AI's capabilities or exposes new APIs to meet DMA requirements. Also watch regulatory enforcement tools: Reuters reminded readers that DMA breaches can carry fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover, which shapes the compliance calculus (Reuters).

The incident fits a broader pattern where platform-level AI features that rely on deep device integration collide with competition rules designed to open ecosystems. Companies and regulators often disagree on what constitutes minimally necessary access versus privileged platform control; translating legal obligations into concrete API-level requirements is an emerging, cross-jurisdictional engineering challenge. For practitioners building assistant integrations, the episode underscores that functionality tied to deep OS privileges may face regulatory friction in markets with strict platform-interoperability rules.