Key facts
- Apple introduced Siri AI, a new AI-powered personal assistant integrated with Apple Intelligence capabilities.
- Siri AI can understand personal context, analyze on-screen content, search the web, and complete tasks across apps.
- The assistant is more conversational, allowing users to revisit past Siri conversations.
- Apple also introduced enhanced child accounts with age-based safeguards and an 'Ask to Browse' feature.
- New AI-powered photo editing tools include an upgraded Cleanup feature and an Extend tool.
- Siri AI will launch in beta later this year, initially excluding the EU and China due to regulatory requirements.
Apple unveiled a significant overhaul of its Siri assistant at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, introducing 'Siri AI' with enhanced capabilities powered by Apple Intelligence. The new assistant can analyze on-screen content, access web information, and understand context from previous conversations, addressing a two-year gap in promised improvements.
Craig Federighi, Apple's software chief, emphasized that "truly helpful AI must be centered around you and your needs," highlighting the integration of AI into everyday products and personal context with privacy as a core design principle. This move positions Apple to compete more directly with rivals like Microsoft and Alphabet's Google.
The updated Siri boasts a more expressive and conversational voice experience and will be available across iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Images and searches will be saved to a new standalone app synced via Apple's private cloud computing technology. Other AI capabilities are executed entirely on-device.
Apple is also leveraging partnerships, with some models built using Google's Gemini technology and larger models running on cloud infrastructure using Nvidia chips. However, the company stressed that personal data would remain private, with most processing done on users' devices or through its own system designed to shield data. Analysts offered measured reception, with some noting that while not "earth-shaking," the updates could make Siri a credible chatbot and potentially an agent.
Due to privacy and security concerns, Siri AI will not be available "initially" in the EU on iPhones or iPads, nor in China, as Apple navigates regulatory issues. Beyond Siri, Apple announced new child-safety controls, AI-powered photo editing tools, and AI features for its Safari browser.