It’s a bit of an Apple-esque quirk: Show up late to the tech party, then take it over without anyone noticing.
That’s the backdrop as the company gets ready to unveil next month a far-reaching revamp of Siri that will go beyond the keyboard on MacBooks and iPhones, turning even its once polite voice assistant into something quite different – spawning pop-ups with answers from searches, summoning reminders for flights on email which she would read aloud from your notification center and more.
The plan, which would come out as part of iOS 27, portends something more profound than a feature update.
So Apple, without exactly saying it out loud, is acknowledging that conversational AI has rewritten the rules, as I outline in recent reporting on an internal push at Apple to revamp Siri and take on nimble competitors.
Its not just the tech that’s striking, but the timing. For years, Siri lagged behind nimbler, chattier assistants, often stumbling in response to basic requests while others sent emails and coded.
Apple’s new system will reportedly bake generative AI right into the operating system, so users don’t have to install any special apps or accounts.
That’s a substantial philosophical change for the company, which is notorious for its control and obsession with privacy – themes Apple has fetishized in its public rhetoric about AI and on-device processing as well broadly covered of Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy.
Behind the scenes, this is also about pressure – heaps of it. OpenAI’s fast growth and Microsoft’s push to incorporate A.I. throughout Windows have been signals of the discontent in Cupertino. You can almost hear the internal debate: Partner, buy or build?
Apple appears to be going the slow-burn, build-it-ourselves approach - no matter if we play catch-up for a bit.
Analysts have noted that Apple’s strength isn’t in flashy demos but scale – more than a billion active devices that could suddenly become smarter thanks to Siri, something explored in industry analysis.
Then there’s the user trust angle, which is far more crucial than people like to admit. As long as the experience feels seamless and secure, Apple enthusiasts can forgive showing up late.
And the company is hedging that a deeply integrated Siri – one that knows context across apps, calendars and messages – will feel less like some chatbot bolted on and more like, hey, your little digital buddy who really does understand you.
Apple’s own public discourse around responsible AI, such as one of its focuses on reducing data collection, has been consistent for years, evident in its public statements and developer keynotes
Will it work? That’s the million-dollar question. Some users are wary, and really, who can blame them after all those years of “Sorry, I didn’t quite get that”?
At the same time, there’s a quiet feeling that Apple knows it can’t pull off another half-step. If Siri’s chatbot reset comes off, it won’t just counteract the competition – it could reframe what people expect from AI in their everyday devices.
If it doesn’t, well, even Apple’s passionately committed user base has its boundaries. Either way, the AI game has just gotten a whole lot more interesting, and Siri is definitely being challenged to show that it can remain in the mix.