Apple Intelligence in Germany: which features work in German with iOS 27

In short: what works in Germany

Apple Intelligence is the bundle of AI features Apple has built into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. With iOS 27, available since 14 September 2026, a new generation of these features arrives automatically on suitable devices, according to Apple.

For Germany: German is one of the supported languages. Apple explicitly says the new features such as advanced photo editing, Image Playground updates and intelligent features in Safari are also available to users in the EU. According to Mac Life, all the older features also remain usable here and work in German.

The big exception is Siri AI, the completely new Siri. It is missing on iPhone and iPad in the EU. We explain the background in a separate article on Siri AI in Germany.

Which devices you need

According to Apple, Apple Intelligence runs with version 27 of the operating systems on these devices: iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models and later, iPhone Air, iPad mini with A17 Pro, iPads with an M1 chip or later, Macs with M1 or later, MacBook Neo and Apple Vision Pro. Apple Germany's page also lists the new models such as iPhone 17, iPhone 17e, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo.

The Apple Watch (Series 9 or later, Ultra 2 or later, SE 3) gets some features when paired with a suitable iPhone.

You need free storage: Apple says up to 8 GB, and up to 14 GB on the newest models with a lot of memory. It also matters that the device language and the Siri language are set to the same supported language, for example both German. An older iPhone such as the iPhone 15 without Pro does not get Apple Intelligence.

The features one by one

Writing tools: you select text and have it corrected, rephrased or summarised. This works on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, and according to Mac Life also in German.

Image Playground and Genmoji: you create images from a short description or make your own emoji. With iOS 27, Image Playground can also make photorealistic images and can be refined with a description, according to Apple.

Visual intelligence: you point the iPhone camera at something, such as a restaurant, a plant or a sign, and get information, a translation or places to buy it. You start it with the Camera Control, the Action button or Control Centre. Apple lists recognising places and recognising plants and animals for German (Germany) as well.

Live Translation: messages are translated automatically, FaceTime shows translated captions and calls get spoken translation. With AirPods 4 or later with active noise cancellation, AirPods Pro 2 or later and AirPods Max 2 it also works in face-to-face conversations, provided the AirPods have the latest firmware and are paired with an iPhone with Apple Intelligence. German is supported everywhere.

Summaries: notifications, mail and messages are summarised briefly; voicemail summaries are available in German (Germany).

ChatGPT extension: for harder questions, Apple Intelligence can hand over to ChatGPT. According to Apple, this works in regions where ChatGPT is offered, and even without a ChatGPT account.

What is English only or missing

Apple explicitly lists some features as English only: suggestions in the Mail app and personalised smart replies in the Messages app. Workout Buddy is only available in English and Spanish, and extended order tracking in Wallet only in English for the US and UK.

Everything that depends directly on Siri AI is missing on iPhone and iPad in the EU. According to Mac Life, this includes describing a shortcut in your own words and having it built automatically; on the Mac it works.

Apple generally notes that availability can differ by platform, language and region. If a feature is missing for you, it is usually down to the language, the device, or Apple still rolling it out gradually.

Cost, limits and privacy

According to Apple, Apple Intelligence arrives automatically with the software update. Features that run on Apple's servers have daily usage limits, however, for example Image Playground and the intelligent photo tools. Apple says expanded access will be available for a fee in the future. Apple has not named a price yet.

Many tasks are handled on the device itself. For bigger tasks Apple uses what it calls Private Cloud Compute; according to Apple, your data is not stored there and is only used for your request.

With the ChatGPT extension, requests go to OpenAI. If you use it without an account, OpenAI receives no information linked to your Apple Account, according to Apple. With a paid ChatGPT account you can use the advanced capabilities more often.