Apple Pulls New Siri AI From Europe, Google Fights EU Android Order

Google and Apple are openly clashing with the European Commission over the future of AI-powered voice assistants. Apple announced that the new Siri AI will not come to iPhones and iPads in the European Union with the release of iOS 27, while Google's president of global affairs, Kent Walker, called the EU's requirements a security risk for hundreds of millions of devices.

What happened

The dispute centers on the Digital Markets Act, the EU's antitrust rules targeting Big Tech that have been in force since 2023. On July 16, 2026, the European Commission issued binding guidance ordering Google to give rival AI assistants the same access to Android features that its own Gemini enjoys, including voice activation and performing in-app tasks such as booking a taxi.

The second part of the guidance concerns Google's search data. The company must share anonymized search data with competing search engines and AI chatbots that request it, under a transparent pricing structure set by the Commission. Google retains the right to verify that a requesting company doesn't pose a security or privacy risk before handing over the data.

Apple pulls Siri from Europe

Apple went further than simply protesting. The company announced that the new AI-powered Siri, unveiled on June 8, will not come to iPhones and iPads in the European Union with the release of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. Apple gave no timeline for when the feature might arrive there. The upgraded Siri will remain available on the company's other platforms, including Macs, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.

According to Apple, the company spent several months trying to find a way to bring the new service to the EU while also supporting rival voice assistants. It says none of the solutions it proposed were accepted by EU regulators.

Commission rejects both companies' arguments

The European Commission disputes Apple's explanation. Officials say nothing in the Digital Markets Act bars Apple from launching new products in the European Union, so the decision not to release Siri AI there is entirely Apple's own choice, not a step forced by law.

Google defends itself in terms similar to Apple's, citing user security. The company argues that giving outside apps broad access to the Android system exposes hundreds of millions of Europeans to a loss of control over their private data, and that sharing search data without proper anonymization could expose private queries to unfamiliar companies without users' knowledge or consent.

Granting third-party apps sensitive and powerful system-level permissions poses a serious security risk - Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs

Market context

The stakes are high: according to analytics firm Omdia, Android and iOS together power roughly 5 billion active devices worldwide, giving Google and Apple a huge distribution advantage over any new AI challenger. At the same time, ChatGPT is already installed on about 30 percent of smartphones in the European Union, showing that users are reaching for alternatives on their own, even without preferential system access.

The Commission argues that forced interoperability is meant to level the playing field in the race for the AI assistant market before Google and Apple can permanently cement their own products, Gemini and Siri, as the default options on billions of devices.

What this means for Poland

For Polish iPhone users, this means the new generative Siri will remain unavailable on phones and tablets, with no announced timeline, even though it will reach the Mac and Apple Watch. For tech companies in Poland, the dispute shows that the Digital Markets Act is genuinely slowing down AI product launches in Europe, which could affect how quickly local startups and integrators can access new features from the big platforms.

The case will likely end up before EU courts if Google or Apple formally appeal the Commission's decision. Until then, European users of both ecosystems will be stuck with a scaled-back version of AI features already available elsewhere in the world.