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Apple says we’re living in ‘a new era’ for Siri thanks to Apple Intelligence. Is that true? Sort of. But the answer is a whole lot messier than you might expect, and getting even more so with the latest Mark Gurman report.
Apple’s polarizing iOS 18.1 decision
Last month when iOS 18.1 arrived, Apple made an interesting decision.
It gave Siri with Apple Intelligence a brand new look, but didn’t change its features hardly at all.
The ‘new’ Siri has a beautiful glowing design that makes it look AI-infused.
But the AI isn’t really there yet.
In iOS 18.1 (on supported Apple Intelligence devices) Siri has gained:
- new knowledge about Apple products
- better understanding when you stumble over your words
- improved context retention between requests
You can also now type to Siri by double-tapping the bottom of your display.
The start of a new era? Yes, but just barely. And it’s confusing for users.
Coming next for Siri in iOS 18.2 and beyond
Next month, iOS 18.2 will bring Siri one highly anticipated upgrade: ChatGPT integration.
Siri will be able to send certain requests it can’t handle to ChatGPT, making Apple’s assistant a lot more useful overall.
But importantly, iOS 18.2 also lets you send any request directly to ChatGPT if you’d like. Simply start your Siri request with, “Ask ChatGPT.”
Then, likely with iOS 18.4 in the spring, Apple is expected to add three more powerful Siri upgrades:
- personal context awareness to provide more capable assistance related to your data
- many new in-app actions across Apple and third-party apps
- knowledge of the content on your screen at any given time
Finally, Mark Gurman just reported yesterday that there’s a new ‘LLM Siri’ coming in a version of iOS 19 and macOS 16. We may see it demoed in June at WWDC, but it likely won’t arrive on devices until spring 2026 via a software update.
When Apple announced that its AI features would roll out gradually over the course of the year ahead, many criticized Apple, but I took a more optimistic view. There are all kinds of benefits to Apple Intelligence being a gift that keeps giving.
But with Siri specifically, I think the critics have a fair point.
The problem of a staggered Siri rollout
Right now, Siri in iOS 18.1 looks brand new (for AI-compatible iPhones). But in terms of features, it’s barely changed.
And this is a problem because Siri’s usefulness depends entirely on trust. Do you trust that it can do the thing you ask it to do?
For many of us, we’ve tried asking Siri things in the past, and it failed. So we gave up ever asking again.
The same cycle is set to repeat itself with Siri’s ‘new era.’
Since Apple’s opted not to launch one big ‘new Siri’ at once, but instead a bunch of smaller changes over time, it’s going to be very hard to get users on board with the assistant’s upgrades.
Siri needs to re-earn users’ trust. And it will have to do that with gradual improvements that most people can’t keep straight on their own.
It’s possible Apple’s strategy will succeed, but right now I’m doubtful.
One thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a messy season ahead for Siri and its users.
What do you think of Apple’s strategy for Siri? Let us know in the comments.
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