Apple’s new artificial intelligence update won’t arrive on European devices until next year at the earliest due to privacy concerns, tech giant admits

It was the most anticipated feature unveiled at this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

But Apple now says Apple Intelligence and two other major updates will arrive on devices in the European Union no later than next year.

In a statement, the tech giant revealed it would delay the EU’s massive AI update due to privacy concerns under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Apple says it is also pausing iPhone mirroring for Mac and improvements to the SharePlay screen sharing feature due to “regulatory uncertainty.”

MailOnline has contacted Apple for further information, but it is not yet clear whether this will impact UK users.

In a statement, Apple said: “Due to regulatory uncertainty under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not believe we will be able to implement three of these features.”

Apple Intelligence was originally scheduled to be rolled out this fall as part of iOS 18.

Apple says it is “committed to working” with the EU to find a way around the issue, but it won’t make three new iOS 18 features available to EU countries this year.

Other features available in iOS 18 – including a redesigned Photos app and more customizable home screen options – are expected to arrive in EU countries.

However, the delay means that Apple users in the EU will initially be unable to take advantage of a wide range of features that use the highly anticipated generative artificial intelligence tool.

Certainly the biggest part of Apple Intelligence is the integration of OpenAI’s wildly popular ChatGPT chatbot with Siri, Apple’s built-in virtual assistant.

Apple Intelligence also includes the use of AI-generated “genmojis,” which allow users to create their own custom emoji using simple text prompts.

Using this feature, iPhone users will be able to create any emoji they want by simply typing a simple description in the Messages app.

EU customers will also not have access to AI-powered text and image editing tools that help create summaries of long text or improve the tone of emails.

That doesn’t mean EU customers won’t ever get the new features, but it may take some time for Apple to clear up regulatory hurdles.

The reason for the delay is a provision included in the EU DMA adopted in 2023.

This rule means that all core features must work across all devices and ecosystems to prevent large companies from acting as gatekeepers to stifle competition from smaller companies.

Earlier this year, the same law was used to force Apple to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone.

However, Apple now says: “DMA interoperability requirements may force us to compromise the integrity of our products in a way that compromises user privacy and data security.”

He adds: “We are committed to working with the European Commission to find a solution that allows us to provide these features to our customers in the EU without compromising their security.”

The company did not specify exactly what aspects of customer privacy would be affected and why.

Apple’s announcement comes as the company faces a $38 billion fine for violating European regulators’ rules over the way it runs the App Store.

The European Commission today said an investigation found that Apple’s restrictions on app developers constitute a breach of the DMA.

This could result in the tech giant having to lose up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue of $383 billion.

This comes after Apple’s AI update itself was criticized for allegedly violating customer privacy – namely Apple’s plans to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT with its Siri assistant.

Elon Musk then said the update was an “unacceptable security breach” and announced he would no longer allow iPhones on company property.

Musk wrote on X: “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, Apple devices will be banned from my companies.”

He added that guests’ iPhones would have to be stored in a “Faraday cage” to block any electromagnetic signals.