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After years of anticipation, user frustration and false starts, Apple announced a major upgrade to Siri at its annual developer conference on Monday. The voice assistant will come integrated with Apple’s artificial intelligence tool, Apple Intelligence, and has been rechristened “Siri AI”.
The new Siri, which will be widely released in the fall, will more closely resemble AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, than a question-and-answer tool that draws from the web.
A rejuvenated Siri is part of Apple’s overhaul of its AI strategy, showcased during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at its Silicon Valley headquarters. The unveiling comes after years of the iPhone maker rolling out AI features that lagged behind competitors like Google.
The conference kicked off with Tim Cook greeting the crowd to a standing ovation. The CEO, 65, is stepping down from the company in the fall after leading it over the last 15 years. Under his watch, Apple became one of the most profitable publicly traded companies on Earth.
“I’ve never seen so many iPhones before,” Cook joked to the crowd of developers filming him.
Shortly after the conference began, Apple announced what the audience had been waiting for: an “all new Siri”.
Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice-president of Siri engineering, took the stage and explained how the company had rebuilt the tool with new generative AI at its core. Siri’s revamp is powered by Google’s Gemini AI model via a billion-dollar partnership between the two companies. The assistant will have its own dedicated app, Rockwell said, and the tool will be more conversational and be able to pull from Apple’s native app ecosystem – on both mobile devices and laptops – to help with daily planning, finding information and directions.
In a demo, Rockwell showed a photo of a beach at sunset and asked Siri to identify the location. After the app did so, he asked it for a friend’s address whom he believed lived nearby. Rockwell then had Siri give him directions to the beach in Santa Cruz, California, with a stop at his friend’s house, all completed within the Siri interface rather than between multiple apps. The app is slated to be able to proofread, shop, add calendar events and use the camera to do things like retrieve nutrition information if you point it at food. Initially, it will be available only in English.
“A fundamentally re-architected Siri inside iOS 27 with a little help from Google’s Gemini would represent more than an update –it would signal Apple’s readiness to make AI the primary interface layer across its ecosystem,” said Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst for research firm Forrester.
Child safety features
Apple also announced it had revamped how its devices handle children’s accounts to prioritize safety and give parents greater customization over how their kids’ behavior. New safeguards limit what content children can see, who they can talk to and when they can access particular apps.
Apple acknowledged the benefits of children having their own device – from staying in touch to using apps that help them with school. But the company also outlined the risks and a need for greater boundaries, citing research showing that children under 13 benefit from restricted access to devices.
“We also worry about opening the door too much, too quickly – and letting kids access things they’re not ready for yet,” said Raja Bose, Apple’s director of trust, safety and values.
An “easy-to-use setup assistant” will help parents curate what they are comfortable with their child viewing and gradually expand what’s acceptable as they age, the company said.
A new safety feature allows parents to require their kids to ask them for permission before browsing new websites in Safari. Another proactively monitors messages for gore or violence and blurs them.
The screen time interface has also been simplified to more clearly show parents what apps their child is using, and for how long, Apple executives noted. If parents want to limit how long their children are using particular apps, they can set up daily time allowances – of their choice, or follow built-in recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which the company has partnered with.
Another shot at improving AI
Along with the refurbished Siri, Apple touted various other new Apple Intelligence features. It is integrating AI elements into its Safari web browser, text messaging and its Home app. The company additionally introduced new tools for its camera and photos that use AI to create, alter or enhance images – all features developed in collaboration with Google.
Over the past decade, Apple has not invested as much, or as quickly, in the AI boomcompared to its tech rivals. Executives seemed to acknowledge that disparity on Monday.
“AI is incredibly powerful technology,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice-president of software engineering. “Some appear to be racing forward, seemingly pursuing AI for the sake of AI, without clear regard for the people – all of us – that it’s ultimately meant to serve.”
Apple has repeatedly postponed the release of an updated Siri, first announced in 2024, as its AI rollout has lagged behind some of its competitors. The previous announcement about the AI assistant’s functionality has led to legal trouble. In May, Apple agreed to pay $250m to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the company falsely advertised Siri’s AI capabilities. Some consumers who bought iPhones received payouts of up to $95, although Apple didn’t acknowledge wrongdoing.
When Apple announced Cook will be stepping down later this year, the company said John Ternus, an executive long in charge of Apple’s hardware division, will take his place. Ternus, who Cook has said has “the soul of an innovator”, told Tom’s Hardware in an interview that he believes the company’s approach to AI should “just make things you do better and easier”.
“If we’re doing it right, people won’t even really notice or think about it,” Ternus said.
