Explained: Why is Siri AI not launching in China and EU countries?
Last Updated: 2026-06-15 09:23:13
There is a new episode of the Apple vs EU battle and the latest subject of this tussle is the Siri AI version that was teased during the WWDC 2026 earlier this month. Apple has confirmed that Siri AI will not be launching in the European Union or EU regions as well as China owing to varied reasons. The company is working out the regulatory challenges in China to make Siri AI work with a local AI partner, something that was done for Apple Intelligence as well.
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Siri AI won't launch in China or EU due to regulatory issues- EU rules require Apple to open Siri AI to rival platforms
- No timeline for Siri AI on iOS and iPadOS in the EU
However, iPhone users in the EU will have to wait for their turn to try out the Siri AI version only if the battle between the regulator and Apple comes to an amicable end.
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Why is Siri AI not coming to iPhone users in EU countries?
Apple, after launching Siri AI this month, shared an update regarding the assistant and its availability news for the EU region. “Unfortunately, due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple will not be able to ship Siri AI in the European Union with the release of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27,” the company said in a post.
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Apple also shared some details about its decision with Siri for EU users and squarely blamed the regulators forcing the company to do so. “Over the past several months, EU regulators did not accept any of Apple’s proposed solutions to bring Siri AI to the EU while safely supporting other virtual assistants.”
The intriguing part is that the ruling is only limited to iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 version that runs on iPhone and iPads, respectively. This means people living in the EU region can still use Siri AI on their Macs or the Vision Pro headset with the latest macOS and visionOS versions that roll out later this year.
Apple vs EU v3.0 - what is the issue?
The EU tech rules warrant all the companies to give free access to rival platforms and services. Apple has been forced to make drastic changes in the last few years for the region, including the option to sideload apps on iOS for the EU countries. But the same ruling also requires Apple to fully open up Siri AI to its competition, something the company is clearly not in favour of doing.
Apple is understandably not in favour of its rivals getting access to the user’s device, which includes the ability to read and send messages, make purchases, access files, and execute actions across any app.
“Apple will continue working to bring these features to the European Union as safely as possible. However, given the clear dangers to EU users and the regulators’ failure to acknowledge these risks, there is currently no timeline for Siri AI’s availability in the EU on iOS and iPadOS,” the note adds.
What has the EU said about Apple’s decision?
The EU regulators are clearly not pleased with Apple’s move to completely block access to Siri AI for its users. In fact, the body felt the company didn’t really try to find a middle ground that suited all the parties. "Instead of trying to find a suitable compliance solution, Apple simply made a request to the European Commission to be exempted from their interoperability obligations under the DMA - and this for at least 18 months," Thomas Regnier, EU spokesperson, quoted by Reuters.
The latest tussle between Apple and the EU leaves the users as the big losers. Some might say that both the parties have their reasons to justify their respective moves, but offering Siri AI with limited access was never going to work out in the region, and Apple has decided it is better to stay away than budge to those demands.