Rumors have been confirmed. At the recent Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple launched the "next generation of Apple Intelligence," which features the highly anticipated new version of Siri, now known as Siri AI.
Powered by Google's Gemini models, Siri AI offers a more conversational experience, utilizes on-device processing, and employs Apple's Private Cloud Compute for tasks requiring server assistance, ensuring your personal data remains private and inaccessible to Apple or third parties. The redesigned Siri app retains a history of past interactions; users on iOS can also access the new Siri through Dynamic Island, while iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 will see integration within Spotlight. Additionally, Siri AI is launching for watchOS and visionOS.
The on-device Siri AI model will be available exclusively on certain supported devices, providing "more expressive voices" and a significant improvement in accuracy for systemwide dictation. Users can customize the expressiveness and pace of Siri's voice, while dictation will automatically manage punctuation, capitalization, and formatting as users speak.
Siri AI will leverage your personal context, including messages, emails, photos, and more, enhancing functionalities within Apple’s own apps. The capability to understand personal context is expected to extend to third-party apps when developers integrate with Spotlight.
Furthermore, Siri AI can respond to questions regarding the content displayed on your screen or fetch updated information from the web, drawing from "broad world knowledge." All conversations with Siri AI will sync across devices via iCloud, ensuring seamless access.
On iOS, a new Siri mode in the Camera app will let users inquire about their surroundings. This feature includes functionalities like splitting bills with friends using Apple Cash and receiving nutritional insights about food items.
Siri AI introduces Visual Intelligence capabilities to iPadOS and macOS, allowing users to search visually, pose questions, and take immediate actions on their screens. On iPadOS, this experience is integrated into the screenshot tool, while macOS users can utilize a specific keyboard shortcut to engage with Siri directly.
Siri AI will also feature integrated Writing Tools accessible in any text input area. Users can describe their writing needs, and Siri AI will generate drafts or refine existing content based on prompts. While composing messages in Mail and Messages, Siri AI can adapt to each recipient's usual communication style, including specific punctuation and tone. Additionally, it offers real-time proofreading across most third-party apps.
Although Siri AI will have the capacity to edit and generate images, this functionality will be subject to daily usage limits, with expanded access granted through iCloud+ subscriptions. Apple announced that Siri AI will enter beta testing later this year for users with supported devices set to English, followed by additional language support shortly thereafter.
In the European Union, however, Siri AI will initially only be available on macOS, watchOS, and visionOS, contingent on supported languages. The feature will not be accessible on iOS or iPadOS due to complications arising from the bloc's Digital Markets Act. Apple stated that "over the past several months, EU regulators have rejected all proposed solutions presented by Apple to safely introduce Siri AI into the EU while accommodating other virtual assistants."
Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, expressed optimism about potentially bringing Siri AI to the EU: "We will continue to collaborate with EU regulators in pursuit of a viable solution. However, their unwillingness to constructively engage regarding privacy and security has left us without a timeline for Siri AI’s launch on iOS and iPadOS in the EU."
Apple further clarified that compliance with EU regulators' stringent interpretation of the Digital Markets Act would require the company to grant any virtual assistant direct access to user data and control over installed applications as soon as Siri AI is made available, which poses significant privacy risks.
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