By the time WWDC dust settled, Apple had a new, visibly smarter Siri. But if you live in the European Union and use an iPhone or iPad, don’t expect that assistant to arrive with iOS 27. Apple says the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules make it impossible to ship Siri AI on those devices for now — and Brussels says that’s on Apple.
This is a regulatory standoff with everyday consequences. Apple argues the DMA’s interoperability demands would force it to give third-party AI providers the same deep hooks into iPhones that Siri needs: access to apps, photos, messages and system controls so an assistant can "see" and act for you. Handing that kind of access to outside companies, Apple says, would jeopardize user privacy and security. The company even offered a technical compromise it calls a Trusted System Agent to mediate access, but says EU regulators rejected the idea and that it would need roughly 18 months to implement the solution on a gradual rollout.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, put it bluntly in the company statement: the firm is "deeply disappointed" EU iPhone and iPad users won’t get Siri AI when the new software ships this year. Apple is keeping the feature available on Mac and Apple Vision Pro in the EU, because those platforms aren’t covered by the same gatekeeper rules. The company also noted that Apple Watch users in the EU will be excluded, since the watch’s new capabilities depend on a paired iPhone that has Siri AI enabled.
Two interpretations of the same rule
From Brussels’ perspective, the DMA exists to stop dominant platforms from locking rivals out — it demands comparable access for third parties where gatekeepers control essential data or interfaces. EU officials have responded that nothing in the law prevents Apple from launching the assistant; rather, they say Apple refused to adopt the remedies that would make competitors’ AI agents similarly capable. In short: Apple says compliance would open privacy risks, the EU says Apple won’t follow the rules.
That tug-of-war is more than bureaucratic theater. The DMA’s interoperability clause was written with competition and consumer choice in mind: if a platform’s native AI can reach into apps and user content to perform tasks, rivals should be able to do the same on fair terms. Apple’s counterargument is familiar — it has long framed its ecosystem controls as necessary to protect user data and device integrity. The question now is whether the DMA’s requirements can be squared with Apple’s privacy posture.
What this means for users and developers
- EU iPhone and iPad owners will miss out on Siri’s new conversational, app-aware features at launch. Apple has not given a firm timeline for when it might bridge the gap.
- Macs and Apple Vision Pro devices in the EU will get the updated assistant, since those devices fall outside the DMA gatekeeper rules Apple cites.
- Third-party AI vendors that might have wanted to build agentic assistants on iPhone/iPad could gain a pathway if Apple and regulators reach a consensus — but that path remains blocked for now.
Developers paying attention to Apple’s AI roadmap should also note Apple’s broader platform moves: the company has been reorganizing where and how AI features live — including plans for a standalone Siri app and careful staging across device families. And even in the system updates pipeline, iOS releases have been shipping with Siri conspicuously missing from some betas, a hint that this dispute has been an active constraint on Apple’s rollout strategy (see the recent iOS 26.5 beta notes where Siri still wasn’t present).
A larger fight about how AI should work on devices
The episode highlights a broader tension in tech policy: how to guarantee competition and interoperability without eroding privacy protections that many users value. For Apple, privacy is a competitive advantage — something it says is non-negotiable. For the EU, interoperability is a tool to keep markets open and give consumers choice over which AI powers their devices.
Neither side is likely to blink overnight. Apple says it will keep negotiating and explore technical ways to preserve privacy while meeting DMA goals. The EU will continue enforcing the new rules it believes are necessary to curb gatekeeper behavior. Meanwhile, Europeans who expected Siri’s next act on their iPhones will have to wait — or switch devices for a taste of the new assistant.
No single paragraph can resolve whether the standoff is a principled privacy stand or regulatory foot-dragging. What it does show is that the rules we write for AI and competition will shape who gets to build assistants, on what devices, and under what safeguards. And for users, those choices are increasingly visible — in the features that do arrive, and the ones that don’t.
