Ultimately, Apple will be rolling out its “Apple Intelligence” AI to Europe, but only to a relatively small number of users.
In late June, Apple announced that it would not roll out Apple Intelligence to users in the EU, citing interoperability requirements in the Digital Markets Act, a new antitrust law for Europe's largest tech companies, saying “these requirements could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that put our users' privacy and data security at risk.”
But not all Apple platforms are designated “gatekeeper” under the DMA; this status comes with interoperability requirements. Both iOS and iPadOS are classified as gatekeeper platforms, as are the Safari browser and the App Store, but MacOS is not. That's probably why, as 9to5Mac reports, the release notes for the beta of Apple's upcoming MacOS Sequoia 15.1 operating system only mention that the new AI features won't be available in China, and say nothing about Europe, unlike the equivalent release notes for the iOS 18.1 beta.
From a purely practical standpoint, this distinction (I've asked Apple to confirm but have not yet heard back) will at least give the company some insight into how European users are reacting to its AI features, even though there are roughly 20 times as many iPhone and iPad users as Mac users in the EU.
But it's still a bit surprising that Apple seems willing to give up on the AI features that European buyers can get that only this year's iPhones (and last year's iPhone Pro and Pro Max) can support, which could have helped sell more iPhones this year. Without that selling point, there's little reason to upgrade.
In fact, it's still not clear what issues Apple has with the DMA interoperability requirements, even a month and a half after Apple made the announcement.
At the time, I dismissed Apple's statement with the rather inappropriate notion that these requirements were focused on messaging, which is one focus, but the DMA also states that Apple must enable third-party hardware and services to take advantage of the same virtual assistant-controlled iOS features that Apple's own chatbots can control, and it's easy to imagine some security or privacy issues arising here.
But we can only speculate, since neither Apple nor the European Commission (which enforces the DMA) have explained the exact issues, including scenarios that would help us understand exactly what threats the DMA may (or may not) pose to the safety of Apple Intelligence users.
For the European Commission, this appears to be a matter of policy. “We don’t comment on individual company decisions,” a spokesperson said in a canned response to my question today. European Commission antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has previously argued that Apple’s failure to achieve antitrust compliance means that “they know 100%” that its strategy of deploying Apple Intelligence is “just another way to kill competition.”
If possible, Apple should counter this statement by explaining specifically the security threats it is trying to block.
After all, Apple often says “security is an issue” when told by regulators to be less closed, and the DMA's forcing Apple to allow third-party iOS app stores in Europe hasn't really changed things. As it stands, you have to give some credence to Vestager's accusation that the company is, in effect, saying “we're going to deploy AI in places where we have no obligation to enable competition.” The assertion itself is tiresomely vague, but if it's not accurate, Apple needs to explain why.
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David Meyer
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Newsworthy
Intel's challenge with OpenAI ended in failure. According to Reuters, Intel had a chance to buy 15% or 30% of OpenAI seven years ago and become an integral part of its AI systems, but walked away from the deal. Former CEO Bob Swan apparently didn't think generative AI would provide a return on Intel's investment. Now Swan's successor, Pat Gelsinger, finds Intel lagging far behind in AI processors and is desperately trying to get back on track.
Airbnb shares fall. Airbnb shares fell more than 14% at the start of trading today. The company expects lower-than-usual sales during the peak summer holiday season, blaming it on cautious U.S. consumers. As reported by TechCrunch, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company's platform will soon launch new features such as “co-hosting,” which will allow people with free time to manage properties on behalf of time-poor homeowners.
New hardware from Google. Google unveiled several new gadgets yesterday, including its first refresh of the Nest Learning Thermostat in nearly a decade and the Google TV Streamer, a successor to the now-discontinued Chromecast series. As The Verge reports, the new entertainment hub is more eye-catching than its dongle-based predecessor and comes with an improved remote control that can be used to control your smart home. Google has an official hardware event scheduled for next week, when the Pixel 9 smartphone is expected to launch.
Key figures
$3.4 billion
—SoftBank announced the size of its share buyback today after facing pressure from major investor Elliott Investment Management and after SoftBank's shares fell to their steepest drop in 26 years earlier this week.
In case you missed it
Elon Musk has declared “war” on advertisers in a new lawsuit calling for a “massive boycott” of X, the Associated Press reported.
Elon Musk's troubled pro-Trump PAC is currently under investigation in two battleground states for allegedly misappropriating voter data, Eva Roytberg reports.
Generative AI is being kicked off its pedestal — and it will hurt, but that's not a bad thing, by Sharon Goldman
Microsoft: Satya Nadella emailed Delta CEO Ed Bastian during IT outage, but Bastian didn't reply, via Associated Press
After raising $75 million, UK's Riverlane founder says quantum computing will have its “Sputnik” moment after AI (AFP)
Governments may take a more flexible approach to promoting responsible AI. “Excessive Regulation Stifles AI Innovation,” by Lionel Lim
Before you leave
AI in schools. According to Nikkei Asia, South Korea plans to distribute “AI-equipped digital textbooks” to students next year and evaluate their proficiency in subjects to provide appropriate content. Meanwhile, domestic IT giants such as LG and Samsung are competing to sell chatbot-based classroom assistant robots and AI-equipped digital whiteboards to schools. “We aimed to create a classroom that digital native children can enjoy,” an LG team leader told the paper.
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