Five days after visionOS 27 shipped, Apple’s own release notes make one regional quirk impossible to miss: in the EU, Siri AI is OPEN on Apple Vision Pro and Mac — and closed on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
MIXED flagged the split on September 19. Apple’s software-platform update page states it plainly: “Mac and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to ACCESS Siri AI when set to a supported language.” The same note says Siri AI “will NOT be available initially in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.”
What Apple Actually Shipped on Vision Pro
visionOS 27 landed September 14 for both the M2 and M5 Vision Pro. According to Apple’s Siri AI Newsroom post, the headset gets a SPATIAL Siri: a 3D visualization you can place in your room, then INVOKE by looking at it and speaking — no “Hey Siri” required.
Visual Intelligence also reaches Vision Pro. Apple says you can ask about content inside app windows and physical objects around you. A dedicated Siri app syncs conversation history through iCloud across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, and Vision Pro — when those devices are ALLOWED to run the feature.
The EU Phone Gap Is the Story
Outside Europe, the Siri AI BETA is the headline. Inside Europe, the DEVICE list is. Apple’s major software update recap confirms Mac and Vision Pro get ACCESS; iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS do not — for now. Apple says it is “working hard to find a path forward” that preserves privacy protections while enabling the features.
Practical EFFECT: a Vision Pro owner in Berlin or Paris can join the Siri AI waitlist TODAY (English language settings required). Their iPhone in the same Apple Account region cannot. MIXED notes the oddity without inventing Apple’s missing rationale — Apple has not explained WHY the split runs between devices.
Beta Rules Still Apply
UploadVR’s visionOS 27 rundown matches Apple’s support guidance: join a waitlist in Settings, wait times vary, then the download starts automatically. ENGLISH only for now. French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish are “coming in OCTOBER,” Apple says. China remains blocked while Apple works through regulatory requirements. Users under 13 are excluded.
Apple Intelligence runs on next-generation Foundation Models built with Google’s Gemini lineage, mixing on-device work with Private Cloud Compute. On M5 Vision Pro, Apple adds more expressive Siri voices; the core Siri AI BETA itself is listed for M2 and later.
Why XR Readers Should Care
Spatial assistants are the COMPETITIVE layer Meta, Google, Snap, and Samsung are all racing. For EU Vision Pro owners, Apple just flipped a SWITCH competitors still need hardware for: a pinned, gaze-invoked AI that can SEE your room and your windows. For everyone else in the same market still carrying only a phone, the metaverse-adjacent assistant stays LOCKED.
That is the clean takeaway for September 19: not another visionOS feature laundry list — a JURISDICTIONAL shipping map where the HEADSET leads the handset.
Sources: MIXED (Sep 19) · Apple Newsroom — major software updates · Apple Newsroom — Siri AI · UploadVR — visionOS 27 launch