Start next monthUsers of compatible iPhones will be able to take advantage of the full Apple Intelligence features (in beta) as part of the upcoming iOS 18.1 update. Unless they live in the EU or China – the two regions where Apple will do not release the new AI features not yet.
First, let’s take a look at which devices are eligible to get Apple Intellgence. Due to NPU performance and RAM requirements, only the iPhone 15 Pro And 15 ProMax of the older models are supported, but all new models (iPhone 16, 16+, 16 Benefits And 16 ProMax) are compatible.
Of course, you’ll need iOS 18.1, at least 4GB of available storage, and you’ll need to set your device and Siri language to a supported language.
Initially, only US English will be supported, with other regional English variants being added in December. Next year, the language selection will be expanded to include support for Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.
Apple Intelligence will initially support English only, with more languages coming next year
However, even if you set your iPhone and Siri to a supported language, it won’t work if you have your Apple ID Country/Region set to an EU country and you are physically located in the EU. It will work if you are traveling outside the EU.
EU users of the iOS 18 beta also suggest that there is a workaround to get Apple Intelligence working in the EU: you need to set your Apple ID region to a supported region, such as the US. This has much larger implications, however. To change the region, you need to empty your iTunes Store balance and cancel all of your Apple subscriptions beforehand. You also need to enter a fake address in that region, which may or may not work as a billing address for your payment methods (if you’re interested in purchasing apps and services from Apple). Changing the region also means you’ll lose access to all apps you’ve paid for in your regional AppStore, and will have to start over in the new AppStore.
Compared to the EU, restrictions for China are even stricter: Apple Intelligence won’t work on iPhones purchased in China. For iPhones purchased elsewhere, Apple Intelligence won’t work if they’re in China or your Apple ID region is set to China.
The good news is that phones bought in the EU will eventually get Apple Intelligence. What’s actually holding things back?
Regulation, mainly, specifically the Digital Markets Act (DMA). First, the EU wants independent experts to be able to verify that Apple regularly keeps customer data private. This is something that Apple specifically mentioned during its presentation: AI functions that don’t run on the device are instead run on Apple servers that use only Apple silicon, which never stores your data or images.
However, this tight integration between Apple Intelligence and other Apple services can be detrimental. Remember that DMA designates Apple as a “gatekeeper” which means it must adhere to strict rules on fair competition and transparency due to the large number of consumers who use its products and services. The Core Technology Fee that Apple wants developers to pay could also prove to be a problem.
It’s not that it can’t be done; this is more a case of Apple throwing caution to the wind. The company is said to be in talks with EU regulators about the best way to implement Apple Intelligence and other affected features.
CNBC reported that Apple is holding back iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay improvements for EU consumers over similar concerns about DMA rules. Apple claims that “The DMA’s interoperability requirements may require us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that jeopardize user privacy and data security.”
Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.1 supports the following features and you can expect all of these features to be MIA on iPhones in the EU and China. You can learn more about Apple Intelligence here.
- Writing tools
- Cleaning up in photos
- Create a Memory Movie in Photos
- Natural Language Search in Photos
- Summaries of reports
- Reduce Interruptions Focus
- Intelligent breakthrough and silence in focus
- Priority messages in Mail
- Smart replies in email and messages
- Summaries in email and messages
- Siri improvements including product knowledge, more resilient request handling, new look and feel, a more natural voice, the ability to type with Siri, and more