The EU on Tuesday rejected Apple’s blame for the delayed rollout of its AI-enhanced voice assistant, saying it was up to the US giant to make products that follow the rules.
Apple unveiled the AI overhaul for the iPhone on Monday, with a strengthened Siri — dubbed Siri AI — with the ability to imitate natural communication, track information across apps like Maps and Mail and carry out tasks.
In a statement, the US company said it could not offer Siri AI in Europe because of the EU’s online competition rules, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
But EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier said “the decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only, because absolutely nothing in the DMA prohibits Apple from introducing new products in the EU”.
Under EU rules, the world’s largest digital companies must ensure their products are interoperable, requiring Apple to open its products to features produced by its rivals.
