The revamped assistant, now called Siri AI, gets a standalone app, visual intelligence, and cross-app actions in iOS 27 this fall
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Apple $AAPL unveiled Siri AI at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, an entirely new version of its voice assistant built on Google $GOOGL Gemini and designed to be more capable, conversational, and aware of what is on a user's screen. The revamped assistant will arrive as part of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27, expected as a free software update this fall.
Siri AI can draw on personal context to search across messages, emails, and photos, execute actions across apps, answer questions about on-screen content, and retrieve information from the web, the company said. A dedicated Siri app allows users to revisit or start conversations, with history synced privately across devices through iCloud. Powering the revamped assistant is Google Gemini, which TechCrunch reports Apple credits with lifting Siri's conversational ability and overall capability.
Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi emphasized the company's approach to data handling during the event. At the event, Federighi spelled out Apple's data commitments in direct terms: "We believe privacy in AI is non-negotiable," he said, and pledged that "data is only used to execute your request, and outside experts can continue to verify this promise at any time."
Siri AI will initially launch in English as a beta for users with supported devices, with additional language support to follow, the company said. The feature will not be available in the E.U. on iOS and iPadOS at launch, and will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements. On supported hardware, Siri AI requires iPhone 16 or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini with A17 Pro, iPad with M1 or later, or Mac with M1 or later.
Monday's announcements also included an expanded set of parental controls under a redesigned Screen Time. Parents can configure a Child Account to automatically apply age-appropriate protections and use a Setup Assistant to select which apps are available. New communication safety tools require parental approval for each new contact a child connects with and can trigger automatic interventions when explicit or violent content is detected. Daily time allowances across entertainment, games, and social media apps are available, with recommended limits based on guidance from clinical and child development experts, the company said.
On the performance side, Apple touted a series of speed gains tied to the fall update, including an 80% improvement to AirDrop transfer times and photos that render 70% more quickly after capture, the company said.
Apple's partnership with Google on Siri has been closely watched by investors. Apple posted record March-quarter revenue of $111.2 billion, and CEO Tim Cook said in April that the Google Gemini collaboration "is going well." Cook is stepping down as CEO on September 1, with Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus succeeding him. According to CNBC, the event gave Ternus an early platform to speak directly to the developer community he will soon lead.
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