Apple Inc. has made a significant decision to withhold the release of several new technologies from consumers in the European Union due to concerns over the bloc’s regulatory measures aimed at controlling Big Tech companies.
The tech giant announced that it will not be launching Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring, and SharePlay Screen Sharing in the EU this year, citing the Digital Markets Act as the reason behind this move. According to Apple, complying with the interoperability requirements of the DMA could potentially compromise the security and integrity of its products, posing risks to user privacy and data security.
The Digital Markets Act in the EU imposes strict regulations on Big Tech platforms, prohibiting them from showing favoritism towards their own services over competitors, combining personal data from various services, using data collected from third-party merchants to compete against them, and mandating the allowance of app downloads from rival platforms.
In response to Apple’s decision, the European Commission emphasized that gatekeepers are welcome to operate in Europe as long as they adhere to the rules aimed at ensuring fair competition.
Apple Intelligence, a key highlight of the company’s recent Worldwide Developers Conference presentation, promises to revolutionize user experiences by summarizing text, generating original images, and retrieving relevant data efficiently. This technology, along with the revamped Siri digital assistant, was anticipated to bring significant advancements to Apple’s product offerings.
However, with the suspension of the rollout of these new features in the EU, consumers across all 27 member states, including prominent countries like France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, will not have access to Apple’s latest artificial intelligence innovations for the time being. The software is expected to launch in other regions later this year, with compatibility limited to a subset of Apple devices and support for American English only.
Among the features that will not be available in the EU are iPhone mirroring, enabling users to virtually mirror their device on a Mac display for seamless control, and SharePlay Screensharing, allowing screen sharing from an iPad or iPhone to another device for remote control purposes.
