Apple Intelligence to launch in the EU in April 2025 for iPhones and iPads, macOS today
Apple Intelligence has been confirmed to be coming to the European Union in April 2025. The AI suite was initially expected to launch alongside the global release, which took place today, but it was delayed due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — but not for macOS.
The DMA, a set of regulations set in place in the E.U. to make it harder for large tech companies to stifle competition, effectively delayed Apple's launch in that region. However, as Apple has confirmed, the delay only affects iPhone and iPad software, not macOS. Meaning that macOS users in the E.U. can start to use Apple Intelligence on their eligible Macs as early as today.
The first Apple Intelligence features, including Writing Tools and AI notification summaries, are now available for English speakers elsewhere. However, in a separate blog post, Apple announced the EU release date for the European Union. The company also confirmed that Apple Intelligence will be available in more languages in April and throughout the year, which include Chinese, Korean, French, Japanese, English (India), English (Singapore), Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German and Vietnamese. In December, Apple Intelligence will become available in English variants for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK.
It's been known for some time now that Apple Intelligence will be getting a tiered rollout. Today’s first batch in iOS 18.1 (for those outside the EU) includes Writing Tools, live transcriptions, notification summaries and more. iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will bring additional features like ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, Visual Intelligence and Image Playground. That software is currently in beta and is expected to arrive with an official release in December.
It's good to see Apple Intelligence finally coming to the EU, even if it's just on Macs for now. We'll have to wait and see in April how the iOS implementation will change the way Apple Intelligence works in the E.U. and how the DMA will affect the development of AI in Europe in the future. In the meantime, European users that have been wanting to get a taste of Apple's version of AI can proceed with powering up their Macs and updating to Sequoia 15.1.
Screenshot from fine print in E.U. press release outlining the release dates for Apple Intelligence in the region. | Image credit — Apple
It's been known for some time now that Apple Intelligence will be getting a tiered rollout. Today’s first batch in iOS 18.1 (for those outside the EU) includes Writing Tools, live transcriptions, notification summaries and more. iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will bring additional features like ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, Visual Intelligence and Image Playground. That software is currently in beta and is expected to arrive with an official release in December.
The only catch is that you'll need a compatible device. On iPhone, that's limited to the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 series. M-series iPads, Macs, and the new seventh-gen iPad mini are also supported.
It's good to see Apple Intelligence finally coming to the EU, even if it's just on Macs for now. We'll have to wait and see in April how the iOS implementation will change the way Apple Intelligence works in the E.U. and how the DMA will affect the development of AI in Europe in the future. In the meantime, European users that have been wanting to get a taste of Apple's version of AI can proceed with powering up their Macs and updating to Sequoia 15.1.
Things that are NOT allowed: