Apple and the EU (European Union) have always had a love-hate relationship. While Apple Intelligence—the main highlight of iOS 18—has been available on all compatible devices since the release of iOS 18.1, it’s still unavailable to users in the EU. However, the company recently announced that Apple Intelligence will roll out in the EU with the iOS 18.4 update (coming next month). However, the same can’t be said for the iPhone Mirroring and ScreenPlay Screen Sharing features.
This week, Apple released an RC (Release Candidate) build of iOS 18.4. This is typically the final version of an update before its public launch unless the developers and testers find any major issue in it. Unfortunately, the update rolled out in EU countries does not include the iPhone Mirroring or SharePlay Screen Sharing features, suggesting that there’s a very high possibility that these features are not coming with the iOS 18.4 update.
Apple states that it is unable to provide these features to its EU customers due to regulatory uncertainties caused by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is an EU regulation designed to prevent major companies like Apple from using their market power with unfair advantages. However, it is not clear why Apple is rolling out Apple Intelligence in the EU but not iPhone Mirroring or SharePlay Screen Sharing.
It's not all disadvantages for EU users when it comes to Apple's feature releases. There are certain features that are exclusively available in EU countries. For instance, EU users have the ability to change their default navigation app from Apple Maps to Google Maps, Waze, or anything else. This capability is not available in the US or any other region.
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