Apple Leaves Europe Without the New Siri: What It Means for LATAM
Apple introduced the most ambitious version of Siri in fifteen years and, on the same day, confirmed that users in the European Union will not get it on iPhone or iPad. For LATAM, the question is straightforward: does it affect the region in the same way? The short answer is that it does not, at least not for the same reason as Europe, but that does not mean the new Siri is coming soon either.
The reason is the DMA, Europe’s Digital Markets Act. Under the European Commission’s interpretation, the regulation requires Apple to give any third-party artificial intelligence assistant the same deep access Siri has: reading and sending messages, making purchases, opening files, and performing actions inside any app. Apple argues that it cannot open up that level of access without compromising its users’ privacy and security.
For months, Apple proposed alternatives, including an intermediate system designed to preserve privacy, but the Commission rejected all of them. The Commission responded that the DMA never blocked the launch and that Apple, instead of building a compliant solution, asked to be exempted. There is no date for resolving the issue: Apple said it hopes to bring Siri AI to Europe at some point, but without any timeline, and according to reports, its teams have stopped looking for a way out while the dispute continues.
The restriction is specific. It affects only iOS and iPadOS, the platforms the DMA treats as gateways to the market. On Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro, the new Siri will be available to European users. China is also left out, but for a different reason: local restrictions on AI services. And there is collateral damage: developers based in the EU will also be unable to test or build integrations with Siri AI for iPhone and iPad.
The DMA does not apply here, so there is no regulatory block holding back Europe. But that does not mean the new Siri will arrive with iOS 27 in September. The limit in the region is different, and it is a product issue: language.
Siri AI starts in English. Apple is launching it as a beta toward the end of 2026, with a waitlist, and has not given a date for Spanish. It is worth separating two things that are often confused: Apple Intelligence, the AI features distributed across the system, does support Spanish and will come to the region with iOS 27; the new Siri, the redesigned conversational assistant, does not.
There is a practical detail for impatient users. Since LATAM does not appear on the list of blocked regions, which is limited to the EU and China, someone with a compatible iPhone and the system set to English could join the beta when it opens. It is not the ideal experience, but it is a door that simply does not exist in Europe.
Mixing the two cases leads to the wrong conclusion. Europe is being held back by the law; LATAM, by language. European users do not know when, or even if, they will get Siri AI on their iPhone, because it depends on an unresolved regulatory dispute. Latin American users know it will arrive; what they do not know is when, because it depends on Spanish being ready, and Apple has not put a date on it.
For anyone using their phone in Spanish in the region, the takeaway is clear: the new Siri is not part of iOS 27 this year. It is an English-language promise, with no date for Spanish. The difference with Europe is real, but the short-term result is more similar than users would like.
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