Will I lose access to Apple AI if I buy an iPhone in Europe?

Apple Intelligence Preview - Apple

I don't know about EU laws and regulations, but there is this:

"Apple Intelligence will be available in beta on all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to U.S. English, as part of an iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia update this fall."

"Some features, additional languages, and platforms will be coming over the course of the next year."

I don't see a statement that the beta will be restricted to U.S. phones with the language set to U.S. English; just that the language needs to be U.S. English. But I thought you might want to be aware of this.

The thing is Switzerland is not on the European Union and don’t follow eu rules so if apple know the difference I hope they will not block it here but I can’t find an answer too. I’m juste hoping that they can make the difference between continental Europe and europeen union :(

You should always purchase your Apple Products where you reside because any warranty coverage would only be valid in the country/region it was purchased from.

-Zachyy ✌️

Maybe we have a beginning of an answer because iPhone mirroring is available rn in Switzerland so I hope they will do the same for apple ai

Apple’s AI will only be blocked if your location AND Apple ID region are set within an EU country. However, I would still recommend purchasing the phone in the IS due to warranties and price difference

The EU’s Digital Markets Act forces Apple to open parts of its OS’s to all developers. Apple claims that that would give them access to the private information of users that AI processes locally, to which not even Apple, by design, has access. Apple has stated its intent to solve this problem, but whether and when the EU regulators accept Apple’s solution is anybody’s guess.

This has already had repercussions, with solutions in other areas, e.g. special versions of the App Stores for EU, not applicable elsewhere, Switzerland, for example.

Recently (if memory serves me correctly), Apple announced that AI will be available in April 2025 in the EU. As far as I know, AI will be released in Switzerland and less regulated countries simultaneously.

Support for natural languages is another, unrelated matter. Support for American English will be first, followed by other versions of English, then other foreign languages.

How Apple determines whether EU laws apply to a particular device, wether it’s the model ID, the location of the device, or the address of the owner as specified in the logged in Apple ID, I don’t know.

You might want to contact Apple and ask them.

There is a "Need shopping help?" link on the U.S. Buy iPhone - Apple site, and I would assume that the same is true for the Swiss version. Whether the first-line "iPhone Specialists" would know the answer is something I don't know, but they presumably could escalate the question higher within Apple to get an answer.

There also might be some support links here:

Official Apple Support

Haddockfish wrote:

The uk is not in the EU so why is ai allowed here? I would like to buy the new 16 pro max but with no AI it’s not worth it.

No one other than Apple, who doesn't read or answer here, would know why Apple Intelligence has not, so far, been announced for the UK.

Only you can decide if all the other features in an iPhone 16 are worth it to you.

Agreed, better in general to purchase your Apple devices in your region of residence for a number of reasons.

For AppleCare, AppleCare+, etc., Apple treats Switzerland as if they were a member of the EU. I do not know how AI will be treated.

The uk is not in the EU so why is ai allowed here? I would like to buy the new 16 pro max but with no AI it’s not worth it.