Other European iPhone users: will you still buy iPhones?

[Sensamic]

So recently we've been seeing how a lot of new features aren't coming to Europe: Siri AI, iPhone mirroring from a Mac, tap to share in iOS 27, etc.

It's getting really annoying. I understand Apple values privacy, but at some point they won't be able to keep justifying more and more and more features not coming to Europe.

This is just the beginning, but what will happen in 2 years? What if the best new features from iOS don't come to Europe?

European users: what will you do?

I really don't understand why there's no problem with Samsung and Galaxy AI (or any of their other features), same with Google, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, etc. None of these manufacturers have problems bringing all their latest features to Europe.

It can't be all due to privacy. Apple is no saint. Let's not be fooled.

 

[aries81]

Sure, why wouldn't I? Those features which are not coming to EU are all things I do not need at all.

I definitely won't go back to Android (ok it's been 16 years since I've used that but I can't see myself going back to it).

 

[judgeFire]

So far, none of the missing features have been meaningful enough. While the EU and the DMA in particular feel like endless annoying overreach, it's still erring on the side of caution, which I appreciate. As long as Apple and EU keep butting heads AND both parties show flexibility, things could actually end up better. Apple needs to be challenged and the EU needs to step down from its purely ideological open market position.

 

[MauricioMorkun]

I'm more concerned about the EU's obligation that cellphone manufactures have to sell phones that have simple replaceable batteries (if I'm correct, from 2027 on..)

 

[AppleForeverandEver]

Thing are changing in the UK government as early as this week!

 

[Snørrbjørg]

Thing are changing in the UK government as early as this week!

UK is not a part of EU, nothing will change in the battle of Apple vs EU.

 

[TechSeeker00]

I will keep buying iPhones, but I am not sure anymore whether I am ready to dish out the full price for the newest models. I want to keep using iOS, because it is what I am familiar with now and tbh I don't want to change, but I might start going for second hand, older models, if I feel like the deal is good

 

[Elusi]

I set my itunes account to US recently just to get access to iphone mirroring. It's a pretty useful feature getting to access my phone apps and being able to make input with a keyboard.

The consequence of this is that all my subscriptions through Apple are cancelled and I cannot add a proper payment method without jumping through major hoops. This means Apple gets less money as I manage subscriptions elsewhere. Sucks for them but what can you do.

 

[svendobbelaere]

I don’t care about LLM AI anyway, so it’s almost a plus that I don’t get the feature…

Obviously, YMMV. I don’t trust any company really, when it comes to privacy.

Both the EU and Apple have their own narrative that they want to sell. Is the EU too bureaucratic? Yes it is, but it’s also sort of by design, drown everyone in regulations instead of fighting wars 😉. Is Apple being stubborn wrt digital markets act etc? Sure. Let them duke it out. I personally like having a price that includes all taxes up front, and a 2-year warranty (even if Apple still doesn’t acknowledge that on their website, at least on apple.com/benl/ they still talk aboit one uear warranty. Bit I never had problems getting a two year warranty honoured)

 

[johannnn]

In the Apple vs EU fight on privacy, I stand behind Apple. I dont wan't everything to be open and that any random LLM can read everything on my phone.

 

[ItsASpider]

So recently we've been seeing how a lot of new features aren't coming to Europe: Siri AI, iPhone mirroring from a Mac, tap to share in iOS 27, etc.

It's getting really annoying. I understand Apple values privacy, but at some point they won't be able to keep justifying more and more and more features not coming to Europe.

It isn't about privacy. Apple is just looking for a fight, not necessarily because they believe the EU is in the wrong here in the first place, but because they believe they can use the sentiment to apply pressure elsewhere where Apple's position on the issues is on very shaky ground and is a position that their customers won't defend them on.

There have already been plenty of examples where Apple claimed the DMA was blocking them from doing something and them doing it than anyway (with or without the EU calling them out on it). For example, that time they removed web app support from iPadOS. Or how they claimed Apple Intelligence features couldn't be brought the the EEA because of the DMA, only for them to roll them out anyways while the only blocking issue appeared to actually be localization. They've repeatedly pointed the finger to the DMA while they were just working on localization and then launched features without as much of a fuss...

I really don't understand why there's no problem with Samsung and Galaxy AI (or any of their other features), same with Google, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, etc. None of these manufacturers have problems bringing all their latest features to Europe.

It can't be all due to privacy. Apple is no saint. Let's not be fooled.

Not all of them are designated gatekeepers. Having said that, Google and Microsoft, both of whom have to adhere to these same rules because they are in the same position as Apple, have no problem releasing features like this. Windows has had phone mirroring for years now. Neither ever had any issues with web apps. Neither have problems releasing their AIs.

The whole Siri AI debacle now is just stupid. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised that as soon as Spanish, French, etc. are supported, they'll just be available within the EU. But Apple's claim that this is about privacy is nonsense. They should provide the API, but nothing is blocking them from giving users the same privacy prompts you already get right now. They just need to make the APIs available, that doesn't mean they have to let go off all protections. Leave it up to the users to what these AIs - including Siri - have access to.

 

[fabianrain]

Yes I will because I still like the iOS set of frustrations more than the Android set of frustrations.
I also don't care about AI (yet). What I really would like to see in the EU is iPhone mirroring.

 

[Sensamic]

It isn't about privacy. Apple is just looking for a fight, not necessarily because they believe the EU is in the wrong here in the first place, but because they believe they can use the sentiment to apply pressure elsewhere where Apple's position on the issues is on very shaky ground and is a position that their customers won't defend them on.

There have already been plenty of examples where Apple claimed the DMA was blocking them from doing something and them doing it than anyway (with or without the EU calling them out on it). For example, that time they removed web app support from iPadOS. Or how they claimed Apple Intelligence features couldn't be brought the the EEA because of the DMA, only for them to roll them out anyways while the only blocking issue appeared to actually be localization. They've repeatedly pointed the finger to the DMA while they were just working on localization and then launched features without as much of a fuss...

Not all of them are designated gatekeepers. Having said that, Google and Microsoft, both of whom have to adhere to these same rules because they are in the same position as Apple, have no problem releasing features like this. Windows has had phone mirroring for years now. Neither ever had any issues with web apps. Neither have problems releasing their AIs.

The whole Siri AI debacle now is just stupid. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised that as soon as Spanish, French, etc. are supported, they'll just be available within the EU. But Apple's claim that this is about privacy is nonsense. They should provide the API, but nothing is blocking them from giving users the same privacy prompts you already get right now. They just need to make the APIs available, that doesn't mean they have to let go off all protections. Leave it up to the users to what these AIs - including Siri - have access to.

Yeah, I agree.

Best would be to let users decide how much privacy they want, in exchange for features they might find useful.

Don't decide for me.

 

[tehabe]

The bigger issue is, that Android and iPhone are both good and awful in their own ways. Also, I really dislike Apple's plan to deeply "integrate" Siri AI into the OS. Just build APIs and make it an optional app.

 

[Sensamic]

Apple didn't want to bring iMessage to Android. There was that leak from Craig saying it would hurt them more than benefit them.

Apple clearly wants to keep it users locked in their ecosystem and keep all their profits through App Store fees and such.

No wonder they are so against the DMA and prefer to let their EU costumers without their latest Siri advancements.

 

[tonmischa]

I really don't understand why there's no problem with Samsung and Galaxy AI (or any of their other features), same with Google, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, etc. None of these manufacturers have problems bringing all their latest features to Europe.

Lets fact check this:
- Google delayed AI features too: Google had to delay its AI Overviews in Europe for 9 months due to EU regulatory checks.
- Google is under EU investigation: The European Commission opened a formal probe forcing Google to open Android to rival AI assistants, mirroring Apple's strict compliance pressure.
- Samsung isn't a "Gatekeeper": Samsung avoids some rules because the EU DMA targets total ecosystem owners; Samsung uses Android (Google) and doesn't control the core OS monopoly.
- Galaxy AI relies on Google: Much of Samsung’s AI tech is built on Google's infrastructure, meaning their compliance is tied directly to Google’s legal battles, not a magic loophole.

Now lets answer your question.

European users: what will you do?

I will buy the phone that I think fits my needs. Which - in my case - is iPhone.
The EU law is there to "pressure" manufacturers into opening up their walled gardens. Apple can only hide behind their phony "privacy" argument for so long.

 

[timber]

We always had less features mostly because Apple didn't bother implementing them.

For exemple Siri in my native language only showed up in iOS 26. Apple Pay and so many others only show up years latter and sometimes so poorly integrated into local systems that they aren't that useful to being with.

Answering your question, a bunch of more or less useless or meaningless features doesn't change the value proposition that much. Perhaps the AI part has the potential to be something important but Apple hasn't even gone beyond English, it's pointless.

What's special about Apple is the overall use and feel of the system, you would have to strip a lot more to lose that.

 

[danpass]

I sincerely hope the citizens of the EU wake up soon and recognize that Brussels is doing everything it possibly can, and legislating its way through the remaining 'cannots', to surveil user data.

This strong-arming of tech companies is just political racketeering. Note how the DMA and CSAM are in direct conflict with each other but in direct ALIGNMENT with Brussels intent. DMA forces interoperability giving CSAM an entry into that interoperability.

I notice that Germany is against these things. I would LOVE to see Germany exit and align with the UK, a 'North Sea Union'. I would LOVE for them to invite friends, Spain/Greece/Italy and anyone else, to the new party.

-

 

[Sensamic]

I don't see Apple priving European users of Siri AI for long, since it will be a core technology of iOS (and their other operating systems) in the future.

They would also be so far behind the competition in Europe (in AI) it would probably hurt their sales (at some degree).

 

[Moukee]

When it comes to Android vs. iOS, I'm still very much on the iOS side of the fence (even though I'm reevaluating this from time to time). I still think not offering Siri AI or screen mirroring in the EU is a bad look for Apple and privacy and security aspects are just an excuse, as it's not like an app could then takeover the phone, the OS would still be able to ask the user for permission. But opinions differ widely on this or course.

I'm very interested in non-Android alternatives like SailfishOS, but while I think that it's pretty mature and a solid foundation, it lacks app support big time. It comes with an Android runtime, but if 80% of the app usage is Android apps through a runtime, I'm not sure what the point of running the rest of the OS is. It's sad that not even European companies offer SailfishOS apps for their services. Catch-22 I guess.

Beyond the EU-specific problems with Apple, I'm pretty disappointed by the update policy regarding watchOS 27, and equally impressed that the iPhone 11 is getting iOS 27. I personally have fairly recent devices and never ran out of major OS updates before upgrading, but my Series 8 will lose support before I'll upgrade. That's very disappointing and ironically might make me not want to upgrade, while I previously planned to upgrade the Watch as soon as it had a new chip.

The "26" series of OSes was pretty frustrating, but the 27 series is shaping up to be pretty good. I like Liquid Glass as well.

So I guess my answer is a "maybe".

 

[Parowdy]

I will keep buying iPhones, but I am not sure anymore whether I am ready to dish out the full price for the newest models. I want to keep using iOS, because it is what I am familiar with now and tbh I don't want to change, but I might start going for second hand, older models, if I feel like the deal is good

Got a 15 Pro when the 16 series was out for not even half a year as I felt the same.
I was in need of a new phone as my 11 Pro completely died after some years of unconditional use, even opened bottles with it once the back glass shattered (and I miss not being able to do the same with my 15) and got a base titanium 15 Pro for 750€, down from 1199€ new.
The screen was very badly scratched as if the previous owner had it in his pocket with sapphires or diamonds, but the rest was mint, even the battery had 100% health after almost 1 year of use.
Apart from the scratches it’s the best phone I ever had, even considering how times have been around the iPhone 4 to 6s era.
It still holds up to this day, supporting all noteworthy features even the latest models sport. AOD, high brightness, USB C, the cameras and almost non existent loading times have all treated me very well.
Had I paid full price for this phone or a 16 Pro my sentiment might be different, but for the price I paid this is an incredible tool and a worthy upgrade.
My next phone will probably be a used 17 Pro once September has come and gone, because no matter how good these phones are, 1.299€ is a lot of money I couldn’t possibly justify spending when this phone still has at least 3 years of life left and costed almost half.
New iPhones are almost criminally expensive and not worth their money unless you’re going to use them for 3+ years, when the cost of the phone per day is around 1€.
Anyway. I can really recommend getting last years model at a significantly reduced price, it’s far more worth it. Less than 2/3 the price for still 6/7 of its supported life time seems fair to me. And my wallet.

 

[Omega Mac]

Once we can figure out how to uninstall the EU.app, will be good to go!

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

What does it matter, Google is underneath the exact same restrictions as well.
Gemini integration with android is already under scrutiny by the European Union, and very likely could face the exact same restrictions as SiriAI, see here…

The European Commission Ruled Months Ago That Google’s Integration of Gemini in Android Violates the DMA — Daring Fireball

Ryan Whitham, writing for Ars Technica back in April:

apple.news

“The difference between Google and Apple on this front is that Google just blazed ahead and shipped Gemini integrated into Android in the EU, and is now facing compliance problems after shipping. (Ask forgiveness.) Apple isn’t shipping Siri AI in the EU in iOS 27, knowing that it’s going to be deemed non-compliant. (Ask permission.)
Google is learning the lesson Apple learned the hard way with all the existing features of iOS that were deemed noncompliant with the DMA when it went into effect. The “ship it first and ask forgiveness / hope it’s deemed compliant” strategy is not a good one in the EU.”

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Having said that, Google and Microsoft, both of whom have to adhere to these same rules because they are in the same position as Apple, have no problem releasing features like this.

This is completely incorrect, in fact, Google is under scrutiny right now because of their Gemini integration within android.
The difference is that Google doesn’t care and just went ahead and included it anyway, let the European Union block it later. Apple took the opposite strategy, don’t include it now to avoid any extra scrutiny.
This will very likely come back to bite Google in the face when they have to explain to customers that a whole bunch of features that they may have been using for years at this point are just going to… Vanish.

 

[Silberbogen]

Nope.