GoKawiilNew Siri is finally here. At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the company lifted the lid on an Apple Intelligence update that unlocks a new Siri experience across its different platforms.
Apple's refreshed voice assistant will henceforth be known as Siri AI. It will come with its own app, a fresh design, Visual Intelligence and a slew of new customization options when it comes to picking a voice. At first it will be available only in English, but more languages are set to be added later.
The Siri AI app is a memory bank for all of your past requests and conversations. Apple
"Siri is now a profoundly more capable assistant that helps you find what you need and gets more done," said Mike Rockwell, who was formerly the company's Vision Pro chief, but has more recently led the company's effort to bring Siri up to scratch for the AI era. "It's also more conversational, so you can go back and forth like never before, and get detailed, engaging answers," he added.
This Siri revamp is actually take two for Apple. The company first announced Siri 2.0 back in 2024 alongside the launch of Apple Intelligence. But this new version of the voice assistant, imbued with AI, suffered delay after delay. Just last month, Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle several legal complaints alleging that it misled people about the iPhone's capabilities.
It's no surprise that the revamped Siri has finally arrived just at the moment of Tim Cook's last WWDC as CEO of Apple. Unveiling the original Siri back in 2011 was one of the first things Cook did when he stepped into the top role. It makes perfect sense that he'd want the long-promised upgrade to Siri to see the light of day before his departure, and close out his tenure by closing what would otherwise be an unfinished chapter.
"Apple had to address its shortcomings in AI, and WWDC provided some answers," said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. "The company must now prove that its privacy-led, integration-first approach can translate into a meaningfully better everyday experience, not just parity with rivals."
What can Siri AI do?
Siri AI will be available across Apple devices and services. Apple/Screenshot by CNET
Siri AI is available across different Apple devices and services, from iOS, to CarPlay, to AirPods. You can activate just as you do now -- by saying "Hey Siri" -- and also by dragging your finger down from your iPhone's dynamic island or waking it via Spotlight on your Mac or iPad. The experience, Apple promises, will be richer and deeper, with better conversational abilities.
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