With iOS 18, set to be released in the fall, Apple is introducing a new personalized AI experience called Apple Intelligence that uses on-device, generative large-language models to enhance the user experience.
As part of Apple Intelligence, Siri is getting an overhaul, including a new interface that glows a light around the edge of the screen, richer natural language capabilities that will allow Siri to understand you even if you stumble over your words, a greater knowledge of Apple products to power on-device support, and a Type to Siri option for entering queries via text.
However, iPhone users will have to wait until next year to see Apple's most significant enhancements to Siri. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will issue an iOS 18.4 update in 2025 that should bring with it the following improvements to Apple's virtual assistant:
- Personal Context: Siri will have the ability to draw from your photos, calendar events, Messages, and other apps to inform responses to queries. Apple gave an example of a person asking when their mom's flight is landing, which Siri figured out based on recent text conversations and emails.
- Semantic indexing: Apple Intelligence creates an on-device semantic index to store data retrieved from your emails, images, websites you visit, and apps you use.
- App Control: Siri will be able to control all individual features in apps for the first time, expanding the range of functions the personal assistant can perform. Siri will be able to do things like open specific documents, move a note from one folder to another, delete an email, summarize an article, email a web link, and open a particular news site in Apple News.
- On-screen awareness: With onscreen awareness, Siri will be able to understand and take action with users' content in more apps over time. For example, if a friend texts a user their new address in Messages, the receiver can say, "Add this address to his contact card."
Going on Apple's previous iOS point release pattern, iOS 18.4 is likely to arrive around or just after mid-March.
Despite the wait for the above features, Siri will still get some improvements when iOS 18 arrives later this year, including a completely new design and ChatGPT integration. Indeed, the initial version of Apple Intelligence is expected to offer a plethora of features. It will leverage AI to prioritize notifications and provide quick recaps of your alerts and text messages. The software will also have the capability to summarize webpages, voice memos, meeting notes, and emails. Additionally, it will introduce new writing tools, image generation, and custom AI-generated emojis called Genmoji.
Apple Intelligence is coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia this year, with the AI features set to come to Vision Pro with the release of visionOS 3 next year.
