
Apple’s digital assistant is finally getting true chatbot capabilities.
Apple
Siri has been a touchy subject, as Apple's digital assistant has fallen behind rival AIs from companies like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic. But Apple is hoping to change that by leveraging Gemini to provide Siri with upgraded intelligence while also creating a new dedicated app for its assistant in iOS, iPadOS and macOS, a change it announced at WWDC 2026.
As before, Siri can be summoned with a voice prompt or by holding down an iPhone's power button. Apple's assistant will now emerge from the Dynamic Island to let you know that it's listening. Users will be able to swipe down from the top center of their device's display to launch a new search box where they can ask questions via voice or text.
Apple
For more complicated tasks, Apple is making a standalone Siri app for people looking for a more conversational, chatbot-like experience. From there, they'll be able to see their previous queries and chats (which will be syncced across devices via iCloud) while the app gives Siri more room to display detailed text cards and multimedia in response to questions.
Additionally, Siri will have access to a device's camera and will be able to see what's on its screen in order to do things like identify an object in a photo or in real life. This will even work in visionOS on the Apple Vision Pro, allowing you to do things like ask Siri to estimate the size of specific products.
Siri AI and the new Siri app are expected to arrive first in the US later this year, while the company works to bring its updated intelligence features to other regions including Europe and China in the future.
This story is still developing, please check back for updates...
View original source — Engadget ↗

