Apple unveils AI-focused iPhone Duo, but EU users lose key Siri features
Apple introduced its first foldable iPhone and placed AI at the core of its ecosystem, yet European customers will not receive the new Siri AI capabilities.
John Ternus, Apple’s new executive leader, opened the event at Apple Park by announcing the iPhone Duo, a foldable smartphone that marks a strategic shift for the firm. He framed artificial intelligence as the backbone of a "smart personal hub" that integrates with daily apps and services. To accelerate development, Apple struck a partnership with Google, deploying Gemini AI models on its cloud infrastructure to handle Siri’s heavy tasks.
Despite these advances, the company confirmed that the enhanced Siri AI will not be available in the European Union due to the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability rules, meaning users in Portugal and elsewhere in Europe will lack contextual conversation, cross-app insights, and related watch features. Local AI improvements in the Photos app remain, but the conversational assistant component is effectively disabled for EU customers.
Why it matters
EU users will buy Apple devices without the promised AI features, highlighting regulatory impact on tech product experiences.
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