New Siri AI Features Will Be Exclusive to Latest Apple Devices: Report

Apple is planning to revamp its Siri virtual assistant using advanced artificial intelligence, allowing users to control individual app functions with their voice, according to sources familiar with the matter, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. We now have some more specific details on what Siri will be able to do in iOS 18.

The overhaul will let Siri command all features within apps for the first time, the anonymous sources said. This required a massive overhaul of Siri’s underlying code, utilizing large language models, a core technology in generative AI. This will be one of Apple’s main AI features set to be announced at WWDC on June 10.

Apple is preparing several new AI features, including voice memo transcriptions, quick recaps of websites and notifications, automated message replies, advanced photo editing, and AI-generated emojis, Bloomberg previously reported.

Basic AI tasks will be processed on devices, while advanced capabilities will rely on cloud computing. Apple is also negotiating with OpenAI to integrate its chatbot and other technologies into the iOS operating system and remains in talks with Google to use its Gemini software in the future.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, has reportedly directed his teams to develop numerous new AI features for this year’s operating system updates.

Siri will be a central focus of the WWDC keynote. The upgraded system will allow Siri to control and navigate an iPhone or iPad with more precision, such as opening specific documents, moving notes to different folders, sending or deleting emails, and more.

Initially, Siri will support only Apple’s apps, but plans to support hundreds of different commands. Also, Siri will handle one command at a time to start, with future updates allowing users to chain commands together. For example, users could ask Siri to summarize a recorded meeting, then text it to a coworker with just one ask, says Gurman.

The feature is among Apple’s more complex AI initiatives and is not expected to be released until next year as part of an update to iOS 18. The first version of iOS 18 will launch in September, alongside new iPhones.

Apple intends to reassure customers about data privacy by creating an “intelligence report” explaining how information is secured. The company will use its Apple Silicon chips and its Secure Enclave inside data centres to lock down private AI queries.

Gurman says many of these new AI on-device features will require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, while only M1 Macs and iPads will get support. If true, this move looks to be a way to force customers to upgrade to get the best AI features on Apple devices. That would be a classic Apple move, and a shame for customers with slightly older devices.