Earlier this month Apple unveiled iOS 26 and the host of changes it introduces. But now the company has confirmed that, due to regulatory concerns, iOS 26 will ship without certain features enabled for EU users.
EU will see delayed release of iOS 26 features due to DMA concerns
Apple’s ongoing efforts to comply with the EU’s DMA will mean EU users will be missing out on certain iOS 26 features…at least for now.
Edith Hancock writes at The Wall Street Journal:
Apple said it will delay offering some planned new features to users in the European Union this year because regulations are making it harder to bring them to market in the region.
The company’s lawyers said on Monday that tools such as a “visited places” service that tracks and records where users have been won’t be rolled out in the EU when it releases its iOS 26 software update later this year.
“Visited places” is one of the new features being brought to Apple Maps in iOS 26. It’s also the kind of feature that seems like a precursor to some helpful Apple Intelligence capabilities.
Though this Maps feature is the only one currently cited by Apple as definitely not making the cut for iOS 26’s fall launch, it sounds like other features could be delayed in the EU too.
Top comment by HastaLaMac
“EU users have grown used to missing out on certain iOS features ever since last year.”. Euh, no. We are used to it for nearly a decade now. Paying the same price for the hardware as our US friends, but getting a crippled experience. Not okay, not sure who is to blame.
Hancock writes: ”Apple said it is still analyzing features that may not be available in the EU and working to find solutions to deliver features as quickly as possible.”
Here’s Apple’s official statement:
“We’ve already had to make the decision to delay the release of products and features, we announced this month for our EU customers,” Kyle Andeer, Vice President, Apple Legal, told a workshop with EU officials and developers in Brussels. Users’ security could be compromised if the company is obliged to open up its ecosystem to competitors, Andeer said.
EU users have grown used to missing out on certain iOS features ever since last year.
Apple Intelligence wasn’t available in the EU until several months after its launch elsewhere, and the Mac’s iPhone Mirroring feature still isn’t available.
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