Apple announced on Friday that it will not be releasing three new features, including its highly anticipated "Apple Intelligence" AI product, in the European Union in 2024. This decision is attributed to regulatory uncertainties stemming from the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which Apple believes could compromise user privacy and data security.
The features affected by this decision include Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring, and enhancements to SharePlay for screen-sharing. The DMA, passed in 2023, aims to address concerns that major tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok's parent company ByteDance act as gatekeepers, hindering competition from smaller firms. Among its provisions, the DMA mandates interoperability of basic functionalities across different devices and ecosystems.
Specifically, Apple cited concerns that complying with DMA's interoperability requirements could force compromises that risk the integrity of their products, particularly for iPhones, iPads, and Macs affected by features like iPhone Mirroring.
Apple Intelligence, touted for its capabilities in proofreading, rewriting text, creating custom emojis (Genmoji), searching specific messages, summarizing and transcribing calls, and managing notifications, will now not be available to EU customers. This decision could disappoint consumers and impact Apple's strategic partnerships, including with OpenAI.
Despite this setback, Apple expressed a commitment to work with the EU to explore solutions that would enable the eventual release of these features without compromising safety. Apple's shares remained largely unaffected by this announcement. Europe accounted for nearly a quarter of Apple's global net sales in 2023, amounting to $94.3 billion, while Greater China, another significant market, contributed $72.6 billion in sales.
The company's decision reflects the complex landscape of regulatory compliance and innovation in the global tech industry, where balancing consumer expectations, regulatory requirements, and competitive dynamics presents ongoing challenges.
