Apple Intelligence Availability: EU and China Users Face Delayed Rollout
Apple Intelligence: What’s Holding It Back in the EU and China?
Apple Intelligence, the company’s latest AI-powered feature, is set to arrive in beta form with iOS 18.1 next month. However, not all iPhone users will be able to enjoy the full range of features immediately. Users in the EU and China will have to wait, as Apple Intelligence won’t be available in these regions just yet.
Which Devices Are Compatible?
Before we dive into the restrictions, let’s take a look at which devices are compatible with Apple Intelligence. Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max from the older models are supported, but all new models, including the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max, are compatible. To use Apple Intelligence, you’ll need to have at least 4GB of available storage, set your device and Siri language to a supported language, and be running iOS 18.1.
Initial Language Support and Future Expansion
Initially, Apple Intelligence will only support US English, but other regional English variants will be added in December. Next year, the language selection will expand to include Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.
EU and China Restrictions
If you’re in the EU, you’ll need to set your Apple ID Country/Region to a supported region, such as the US, to use Apple Intelligence. However, this has significant implications, including emptying your iTunes store balance, canceling all Apple subscriptions, and providing a fake address. EU users have found a workaround, but it’s not a recommended solution.
In China, the restrictions are even stricter – Apple Intelligence won’t work on any iPhones bought in mainland China, and it won’t work while your iPhone is in mainland China or if your Apple ID region is set to mainland China.
What’s Holding Things Up?
The main issue is regulation, specifically the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The EU wants independent experts to verify that Apple is keeping customer data private regularly. Apple has addressed this concern by stating that AI features will run on Apple servers that exclusively use Apple silicon, which will never store your data or images.
However, the tight integration between Apple Intelligence and other Apple services might be hurting its implementation. As a "gatekeeper," Apple has to respect strict rules about fair competition and transparency due to the large number of consumers using its products and services. The Core Technology Fee that Apple insists on charging developers could also be an issue.
The Future of Apple Intelligence
It’s not that Apple can’t implement Apple Intelligence; it’s just being cautious. The company is allegedly in talks with EU regulators about the best way to implement Apple Intelligence and other affected features.
Key Features of Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.1 will support the following features:
• Writing Tools
• Clean Up in Photos
• Create a Memory movie in Photos
• Natural language search in Photos
• Notification summaries
• Reduce Interruptions Focus
• Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing in Focus
• Priority messages in Mail
• Smart Reply in Mail and Messages
• Summaries in Mail and Messages
• Siri enhancements, including product knowledge, more resilient request handling, new look and feel, more natural voice, the ability to type to Siri, and more
For now, users in the EU and China will have to wait, but the future of Apple Intelligence looks promising.
