Siri AI will not be available on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch in the European Union when iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and watchOS 27 ship on Monday, September 14. Apple’s press release says EU users can access Siri AI on Mac and Apple Vision Pro instead, and it has given no date for the iPhone.
The gap comes from Apple’s dispute with the European Commission under the Digital Markets Act. According to Apple’s June press release, Apple proposed a “Trusted System Agent” approach with an 18-month rollout, and the Commission rejected it. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said at the time: “We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year.”
Key facts: Siri AI in the EU
| Item | Apple’s position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | “Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS” | Apple’s iOS 27 page |
| Mac, Apple Vision Pro | Available “when set to a supported language” | Apple’s press release, June 8 |
| Reason | Digital Markets Act; Apple’s proposal was rejected by the European Commission | Apple’s press release, June 8 |
| Apple’s proposal | “Trusted System Agent” with an 18-month rollout | Apple’s press release, June 8 |
| EU date for iPhone | None given | Apple’s press release |
| Launch elsewhere | Beta, English, September 14; five more languages in October | Apple’s press release, September 9 |
| Related EU gap | Tap to Share in Apple Pay is not available in the European Economic Area | Apple’s press release, June 9 |
Which Apple platforms get Siri AI in the EU
Apple has split its own platforms rather than blocking Siri AI across the board. The wording in Apple’s June press release is that “Mac and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when set to a supported language,” while “Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.” The same line appears, slightly shortened, on Apple’s iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and watchOS 27 pages.
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| Platform | Siri AI in the EU at launch | Siri AI elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| iOS 27 (iPhone) | No | Beta, English, September 14 |
| iPadOS 27 (iPad) | No | Beta, English, September 14 |
| watchOS 27 (Apple Watch) | No | Beta; Apple says developer testing comes in a future watchOS 27 beta |
| macOS 27 Golden Gate (Mac) | Yes, in a supported language | Beta, English, September 14 |
| visionOS 27 (Apple Vision Pro) | Yes, in a supported language | Beta, English, September 14 |
“Supported language” is the other condition. Apple’s press release says Siri AI rolls out in English first, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish coming in October. So an EU Mac user gets Siri AI on September 14 only with the Mac set to English, and a French or Portuguese Mac joins in October. German, Italian, Dutch and the Nordic languages are supported by Apple Intelligence generally but are not on Apple’s Siri AI language list.
What EU iPhone users still get in iOS 27
Apple’s restriction names Siri AI specifically, not Apple Intelligence as a whole. Apple’s iOS 27 page lists Apple Intelligence in 16 languages, including Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish, and Apple’s September press release says Apple Intelligence launches with iOS 27 on September 14 for users with a supported device set to a supported language.
The rest of the iOS 27 feature list is not tied to the dispute either, according to Apple’s iOS 27 page: the Liquid Glass slider, Photos Spatial Reframing, Extend and the enhanced Clean Up tool, Image Playground, Safari Tab Topics and Notify Me, the Home app’s clip search, GymKit on iPhone and the new child safety controls. What EU iPhones lose is Siri AI itself: the personal-context search, onscreen awareness, web answers, in-app actions and the Siri app.
What the Trusted System Agent proposal was
Apple’s June press release describes the proposal only in outline: a “Trusted System Agent” and an 18-month rollout, both rejected by the European Commission. Apple has not published a technical description of what the agent would do, which DMA obligations it was meant to satisfy, or what the Commission asked for instead. Apple’s stated position is that it is “working hard to find a path forward that preserves its users’ privacy and security.”
The privacy framing matches how Apple describes Siri AI: according to Apple’s Apple Intelligence page, requests run on-device or through Private Cloud Compute, and personal data “is not stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else.” The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo both carry the A20 Pro chip that Apple lists as Apple Intelligence hardware, so the restriction is regulatory, not a hardware limit.
What Apple has not said
- Any date, or even a year, for Siri AI on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch in the EU.
- What the Trusted System Agent would do, or which part of the DMA the Commission’s objection rests on.
- Whether the Siri app appears on EU iPhones at all, or whether conversations started on an EU Mac can be continued on an EU iPhone.
- Whether an EU iPhone set to English and used outside the EU behaves differently. Apple’s pages say only that availability varies by region.
- Whether the five October languages arrive in the EU on Mac and Vision Pro at the same time as elsewhere.
iOS 27 is a free update on Monday, September 14 for iPhone 11 and later, according to Apple’s press release, and Siri AI launches the same day in beta outside the EU. EU users who want Siri AI on day one need a Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 27 Golden Gate or an Apple Vision Pro on visionOS 27, set to English. Our event recap covers everything else Apple announced on September 9.
