Apple is “Engaging” With Regulators to Bring Apple Intelligence to the EU and China

With the release of the first iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 developer betas earlier this week, Apple made a subset of Apple Intelligence features available for testers. The new personal intelligence system won’t be ready for the launch of iOS 18 in September, but it should ship on supported iPhones, iPads, and Macs in October, though only in US English.

We already knew that Apple Intelligence won’t launch in the EU this year due to concerns over compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed the company’s plans to bring its personal intelligence system to other markets during the company’s earnings call with investors yesterday (via 9to5Mac). And that will require discussions with regulators in the EU and China.

“We’re engaged, as you would guess, with both regulatory bodies that you mentioned. And our objective is to move as fast as we can, obviously, because our objective is always to get features out there for everyone,” Cook said yesterday. “We have to understand the regulatory requirements before we can commit to doing that and commit a schedule to doing that, but we’re very constructively engaged with both.”

The beta version of Apple Intelligence is currently blocked in the EU, even on devices set to US English. Apple needs to be cautious as the EU Commission already said that the company was breaking DMA rules with its steering rules for the App Store. If Apple fails to comply with the DMA, the company could face a fine of up to 10% of its total annual turnover.

With Apple Intelligence, Apple aims to offer a more “private” generative AI experience that relies more on on-device processing. When Apple Intelligence needs to leverage larger server-based models, it will do so using the Apple-designed Private Cloud Compute, which runs on Apple silicon.

Apple made it clear that users’ data was never stored on its servers, and that independent experts will be able to inspect the code that runs on the company’s Apple silicon servers. However, the company may still need to make some changes to how Apple Intelligence works to please regulators in the EU and China. As you probably know, the Internet in China is highly regulated and Apple won’t be allowed to send data from Chinese users to its own servers in the US.