Apple Just Announced “Siri Artificial Intelligence” (for Real This Time).
Apple may be lagging a bit behind in the AI arms race, but perhaps that’s for the better. Today at WWDC, the company announced the integration of Siri AI into its devices, and it appears to be one of the most sophisticated and understated implementations we’ve seen. Finally, there will be a dedicated Siri app with a conversational interface, in addition to the familiar Siri interface. And all of this is built on Google’s Gemini models.
The combination of Siri and Gemini wasn’t a surprise, as the partnership was announced earlier this year . However, the implementation is interesting. Previously, Siri existed as an abstract layer that could be invoked while using the device, but in iOS 27, you can also open a dedicated Siri app to initiate a conversation, similar to how most other AI assistants work.
Since Siri AI is built on Gemini, many of its features will feel familiar if you’ve followed Gemini’s capabilities . You can use it to find directions, search for specific photos in your photo gallery, summarize documents, or create event plans—with the usual caveats about the potential for errors introduced by generative AI.
On Mac computers, the new Siri AI will be built directly into Spotlight, which Apple says will be able to distinguish between regular search queries and AI-driven queries. How well this works could be crucial, as searching for a specific file by name should yield quick results, while generative AI responses typically take much longer.
Siri will also be able to use your phone’s camera to recognize objects or search for information. For example, Apple demonstrated how Siri can find nutritional information by pointing the camera at food or split a bill by looking at a receipt. Siri will also be able to help users write or proofread their own text anywhere text can be entered.
All of this will be implemented in iOS 27, which will be released later this year, although there are a few significant exceptions. First, due to regulatory issues, Siri AI will not be available in the EU on iOS or iPad OS at launch. Similarly, regulatory hurdles prevent Siri AI from appearing on any Apple devices in China at launch.
There’s also the issue of usage limits. Specific details are still scarce, but some Siri AI features will use on-device models, while others will rely on server-side models using Apple’s private cloud . However, the latter can require significant computing power, so some features, such as image generation, will be subject to daily usage limits.
Apple hasn’t provided specific details about these daily usage limits, nor a full list of features that might impact them. However, the company has stated that iCloud+ subscribers will receive “expanded access.” So that’s encouraging.
At this point, this largely feels like a step toward achieving approximate parity with most other AI-powered voice assistants. The key difference, as usual, is the tight integration with the Apple ecosystem. Visually searching through a photo gallery or adding events directly to a calendar from an image on the screen can work more smoothly and with less server load than is typically possible with other voice assistants.
Apple seems to be placing far more emphasis on AI’s semantic understanding than its generative capabilities. Amid the deluge of companies seeking to make AI write, create, and produce art for us (even when we don’t want it), it’s often overlooked how impressive it is that AI-powered chatbots generally understand what we say. Many Siri demos at WWDC today leaned more heavily on this aspect of AI, using it as an aid to completing tasks you want to accomplish rather than guessing what you want.
One of the best examples of this is allowing users to describe a common routine in simple language and turn it into automation using Shortcuts . Shortcuts are an interesting, albeit underutilized, feature that can simplify mundane tasks, and using AI to interpret what you want to achieve is, in my opinion, one of the best uses of AI.
It remains to be seen how well Siri AI will work in practice when we get access to the beta later this year, but for now, you can check out all the new Apple Intelligence and Siri AI features coming soon here .