Apple is not at all happy with the European Union and its regulatory zeal that forced it to open its “private garden”, but its latest decision is quite disconcerting and it’s wrong to punish its users in Europewho have nothing to do with those who make the laws.
One of the The biggest disappointment of the last WWDC 2024 was the announcement that Apple Intelligence, Apple’s new artificial intelligence (AI) for iOS 18, would not arrive outside the United States until 2025.. The big news of iOS 18 which promises that Siri will be a virtual assistant with real utility and which will facilitate daily tasks like reading or writing emails, or less relevant things like creating our own emojis will only be in beta for the United States and only in English this summer (no firm date), and is not expected to reach other languages and regions until next year. All we could see in Apple’s presentation on its AI was therefore smoke, something to which other companies have accustomed us but which at Apple was quite unexpected.
But today there was something completely unexpected: an announcement from Apple in which it is assured that the delay in Apple Intelligence is due to the DMA, the “digital markets law” that Europe imposed to Apple and which caused, among other things, which had to allow third-party application stores, payment methods other than Apple and a long series of modifications that seek free competition in favor of users, at least that is what our politicians tell us. This detail was not mentioned during Apple’s last presentationand it is something important enough that it should not be said if it is really the cause of this decision.
In recent days, the European Commission and more particularly Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, have made it clear that European regulatory bodies are not at all satisfied with the measures taken by Apple to comply with the DMA, they consider them insufficient and in some cases even contrary to what is sought with this law. Is it a coincidence that, after these comments, the company released this statement specifically accusing the DMA? Does not seem to. Add to all this that not only is Apple’s AI behind the times, Other functions that have nothing to do with Apple Intelligence are also delayed, like iPhone mirroring or SharePlay screen sharing.. The first allows you to view and control your iPhone screen from your computer screen. The second allows you to control another user’s screen to teach them how to do something. What is Apple’s excuse for this decision? They assure that the DMA leads to a reduction in the security of their products and that therefore they will not launch it until they have seen that their users in Europe are not at risk.
Apple’s strategy seems clear: hold European users hostage so that regulatory bodies think twice before making decisions against them. I will not be the one to defend the regulatory will of the European Union, but Apple may be shooting itself in the foot with this decision, and I hope that is the case and that it will be forced to rectify . If you delay the most important features of your next update in a market with over 450 million potential users, what will motivate them to consider switching phones this year? Worse, In addition to losing sales of your devices, you will piss off many users. who are already disappointed because you put them at the back of the queue to use Apple Intelligence. Patience has a limit.
