Apple is making another attempt at an AI-enhanced Siri, with the newly upgraded virtual assistant demonstrating core functionalities that include managing user data from emails and calendars, and providing basic advice. This iteration appears to be a more functional realization of the company’s AI ambitions for its assistant.
Core Capabilities Demonstrated
The upgraded Siri AI can now perform a range of tasks previously beyond its capabilities. This includes adding multiple events, such as sports schedules or school activities, from emails or other documents directly to a user’s calendar in a single action. Initial testing confirms that this feature, often a key request for parents managing family schedules, is operational.
Beyond calendar management, the new Siri can engage in more context-aware interactions. Users can ask for assistance with tasks like creating shopping lists for specific stores, setting reminders for home maintenance such as composting, or diagnosing potential issues with yard plants. It can also reference information within a user’s email and calendar to provide more tailored answers, such as calculating the optimal departure time for an airport based on event details.
Contextual Understanding and Privacy
A significant aspect of the new Siri’s functionality relies on its improved understanding of context. The assistant has shown an ability to retrieve information from various personal data sources, including calendar events and emails, to answer specific queries. For instance, it successfully identified the return date for rented camera gear by referencing both a calendar entry and an email notification.
Apple’s approach to AI processing involves a combination of on-device data indexing and cloud-based computation. Prompts that cannot be fully processed on the device are sent to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, with only necessary personal data attached. This differs from some competitors, like Google’s Gemini, which require explicit user opt-in for direct access to services like Gmail or calendars.
Comparison and Future Outlook
While the new Siri’s capabilities are a notable improvement, they are described as basic when compared to the features offered by AI assistants like Google’s Gemini, which has offered similar functionalities for a longer period. The initial iteration of Apple’s AI Siri is seen as comparable to Gemini’s capabilities from approximately a year prior.
Despite its foundational feature set, the current Siri AI is noted for its reliability and adherence to advertised functions, a crucial step for Apple after previous AI announcements did not materialize. The assistant also appears to have strong guardrails, refusing inappropriate requests. The user interface has also been updated, with Siri accessible from the Dynamic Island and a prominent search prompt on the home screen, making it more readily available.
Currently available in a developer beta, this version of Siri is seen as a significant step toward rebuilding user trust in Apple’s AI offerings.
Steve Lopez is the Editorial Page Editor for News Raise. He covers Health. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards for his reporting and column writing at seven newspapers and four news magazines.
