Following new European DMA laws, Apple is refusing to deploy several features of its AI solution in 2024.
The biggest news from the latest Apple keynote may well not see the light of day on our side of the globe. In any case, this is what Apple recently declared to several media including Bloomberg and Numerama. The firm mentions an incompatibility between certain features of Apple Intelligence and the rules of the DMA (Digital Market Acts) which allow the protection of European users in terms of anti-competitive practices.
The firm therefore recently announced that it would have to give up three of the most interesting features of its latest keynote: “Due to regulatory uncertainties caused by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not expect to be able to roll out three features — iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence — to our users in the European Union this year.”
These recent statements, however, remain rather vague and it is quite complicated to understand how the DMA prevents you from copying your iPhone screen to a Mac via the iPhone Mirroring function.
However, we must keep in mind that Apple has never hidden a certain animosity towards the DMA. These new European rules must certainly have forced the firm to shake up its plans in terms of new functionalities and strategies in the short term. The DMA notably forced Apple to switch its devices to the USB-C port, and therefore, to give up its proprietary Lightning port. Only three months after the implementation of these new rules, this declaration and position could therefore well be an attempt by Apple to get its European fans to step up against the DMA.
We will therefore have to wait and see if Apple finds a roundabout solution to offer its AI solution on iPhone very soon. Otherwise, the iPhone 16 would lose many features planned for its launch in September.
