Apple on Monday announced an all-new version of Siri during its Worldwide Developers Conference, a move that could bring its roughly 15-year-old digital helper up to speed with rivals like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
The tech giant also announced performance improvements for its iPhone, Mac and iPad software and new child safety features. But the new Siri is the biggest indication yet of how Apple is revamping its products as more people use chatbots and AI agents for everyday tasks.
Many will be looking to see whether Apple’s history of turning nascent technologies into popular products will apply to AI, especially after the company’s AI ambitions have faced delays.
If Apple delivers this well, Siri stops being a feature and becomes a new interaction layer for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and eventually future categories of hardware,” Francisco Jeronimo, a tech analyst for market research firm the International Data Corporation, told CNN over email.
Apple also showed how it’s infusing more AI across apps like Messages, its Safari browser and its Home app for managing smart home devices. Apple Intelligence will be able to organize Safari tabs by topic, and users will be able to create new browser extensions with a prompt. The Messages app will suggest actions, like creating a reminder or a note, based on the content of a conversation. And the Home app will be able to analyze clips from connected cameras generate descriptions.
On a personal note, some of the greatest highlights of my time as CEO have been events like this,” Cook said at the end of Apple’s presentation.
Dan Ives, global head of technology research for Wedbush Securities, called the Siri upgrades a “step in the right direction” for Apple’s AI strategy and said it sets up Cook to pass the baton to Ternus.
Apple’s large market share – more than 2.5 billion Apple devices are in use globally – could give it an edge in AI.
That could be Apple’s big opportunity. More than half of iPhones in use globally, or about 1 billion iPhones, don’t support Apple Intelligence since the technology is only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and later, according to Rana.
They’re not going to mess it up,” Munster said. “They’ve got too much at stake to drop the ball.”