Apple rolls out iOS 27 with delayed Siri AI overhaul; EU blocked under DMA

Apple's long-delayed Siri overhaul is finally reaching testers in iOS 27 beta 8. The rebuilt Siri is powered by Apple Intelligence and new Apple Foundation Models, promising richer conversations, personal context, broader world knowledge, and deeper in-app actions, plus a new visual experience. New capabilities include Visual Intelligence and a Camera app Siri mode, with Apple Intelligence expansions rippling across Photos, Safari, Mail, and Messages.

The rollout carries baggage. Apple faces a Siri lawsuit settlement over capabilities it promised in 2024 but delayed, underscoring how far behind schedule this upgrade has run relative to rivals' assistants. And in a significant regional wrinkle, Europe is excluded from Siri AI on iPhone and iPad, which Apple attributes to the Digital Markets Act — leaving EU users able to access Siri AI only on Mac and Vision Pro.

The EU exclusion sparked user backlash and reframes the DMA debate: regulation intended to increase competition is, in Apple's telling, gating European users out of flagship AI features. Competitively, a genuinely capable Siri would help Apple close the assistant gap with Google's Gemini-powered Android experience and OpenAI's ChatGPT, but the repeated delays have eroded confidence. Readers should watch the public iOS 27 release date, whether the shipped Siri lives up to the demos, and how the EU standoff resolves.