Siri AI Features Launch Without EU and China Access Later This Year

Apple’s new Siri AI features, announced at WWDC 2026, will launch in beta later this year without availability in the European Union or China, two of the company’s largest markets outside the United States.

The EU exclusion follows a familiar pattern. Apple withheld Apple Intelligence from EU users at launch in 2024, citing uncertainty around the Digital Markets Act, and only began rolling it out there in April 2025 after months of regulatory back-and-forth with the European Commission. The same friction is apparently repeating itself with the next generation of features before they even ship.

China is a separate and more complicated problem. Generative AI services in China require government approval, and foreign companies face particular scrutiny around data handling and content controls. Apple has historically relied on local partners to navigate those requirements, and the absence of a ready framework suggests those negotiations are either early or stalled.

Together, the EU and China account for a substantial share of Apple’s installed base. The EU represents roughly 20 percent of iPhone revenue by region, and Greater China, despite recent sales pressure, still contributes around 17 percent. Launching a flagship software feature that skips both simultaneously is not a small carve-out.

What Apple Actually Said

The company’s language is carefully hedged: “while it works through regulatory requirements” for China, and “until it can find a path forward for regulatory approval” in the EU. Neither phrase suggests a timeline. The 2024 EU delay stretched nearly nine months from the US launch, and there is no structural reason to expect a faster resolution this time.

Apple is framing this as a temporary sequencing issue rather than a market withdrawal, which is technically accurate. Whether users in Frankfurt or Shanghai see these features in 2026 at all remains an open question.