Apple has officially unveiled Siri AI, a ground-up rebuild of its virtual assistant, at the Worldwide Developers Conference on 8 June 2026. The announcement marks Apple’s most significant attempt to close the gap with OpenAI and Google after two years of delays, lawsuits, and broken promises that followed the original Apple Intelligence launch in 2024. Here is what Siri AI actually does — and what to watch for when it arrives this autumn.

What went wrong with the original Apple Intelligence?

Apple first announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, pitching a context-aware Siri that could take actions across apps and understand personal information stored on device. The features were heavily promoted during the iPhone 16 launch in September 2024, with Apple positioning them as a core selling point of the new hardware.

The rollout was, by most accounts, a failure to deliver. Several promised features — including deeper app integration and the ability to take actions across apps — were delayed past the initial iOS 18 launch and into subsequent updates. Sixty-nine plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit claiming Apple had misled customers by pitching the Siri upgrades as selling points for iPhone 16 models, arguing the company overstated what buyers would get in 2024. Apple reportedly conducted a high-stakes internal meeting in early 2025 after the failure of Siri’s AI upgrade, with CEO Tim Cook said to have lost confidence in AI chief John Giannandrea. Apple Watch and Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell was subsequently appointed to lead the revamped Siri effort.

Over about a year and a half, the release date for the new Siri was continuously pushed back, with some features expected in iOS 26.4 ultimately postponed to iOS 27. Siri AI, announced at WWDC26, is the product of that reset.

What is Siri AI and how is it different?

Siri AI is not an incremental update. Apple describes it as an entirely new version of Siri, rebuilt on a new architecture and deeply integrated across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It is unlocked by Apple Intelligence and powered by what Apple describes as a privacy-focused server model, with Google’s Gemini backend reported to handle the heavy AI lifting.

A dedicated standalone Siri app now accompanies the assistant, allowing users to revisit past conversations or start new ones. Conversation history is synced privately across devices via iCloud, meaning a task started on iPhone can be continued on a Mac or iPad.

What are the biggest new capabilities in Siri AI?

The most substantive changes fall into four areas:

Personal context and cross-app actions. Siri AI can now execute multi-step tasks across apps without the user switching between them. For example, it can search a user’s photos for a specific trip, filter by people, and add the results to a shared album — entirely by voice. It can also search past messages for a contact’s address and generate directions automatically, or find previous conversations about a contractor and draft a follow-up email.

Visual intelligence. On iPhone, a new “Siri Mode” within the Camera app lets users point their phone at real-world objects for contextual information — scanning food for nutritional data or pointing at a receipt to split a bill via Apple Cash. On Mac, a keyboard shortcut lets users select anything on screen and query Siri about it. On visionOS, Siri can respond to questions about physical objects simply by the user looking at them.

System-wide writing tools. Siri AI can now draft text anywhere input is available on the system, adapting tone based on the recipient — for instance, using bullet points when composing a message to a manager in Mail. It also powers automatic proofreading across most third-party apps without additional setup.

Richer, more conversational interaction. Siri AI supports follow-up questions, back-and-forth brainstorming, and complex multi-turn tasks. The voice itself has been redesigned with adjustable expressivity and pace. On visionOS, users no longer need to say “Hey Siri” — simply looking at the Siri visualisation begins the interaction.

Which platforms get Siri AI?

Siri AI is available across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27, with platform-specific integrations on each. On Mac, Siri is integrated directly into Spotlight, allowing text queries from the search bar. On Apple Watch, it is accessible through the new app grid. On iPad, Visual Intelligence is built into the screenshot experience.

Third-party developers can integrate Siri AI through App Intents, allowing users to pull information from or take actions within external apps — Apple cited messaging app Line and calendar app Structured as examples.

When will Siri AI be available — and who gets it first?

According to Apple’s press release, Siri AI will launch as a beta in English later in 2026, ahead of a full release with iOS 27 this autumn. Several restrictions apply at launch:

• English only initially, with additional language support to follow
• Not available on iOS and iPadOS in the EU at launch, pending regulatory review
• Not available in China, while Apple works through local requirements
• Requires iPhone 16 or later, iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, or Apple Silicon Mac with M1 or later

Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when the software is released.

Where does this leave Apple in the AI race?

The announcement comes at a crucial moment for Apple, which has faced sustained criticism over delays in rolling out AI features first announced in 2024, as competitors such as OpenAI and Google rapidly expanded their own offerings. Siri AI is built on a Google Gemini backend, with ChatGPT and Claude available as optional extensions rather than core integrations — a significant shift from the OpenAI partnership Apple foregrounded just two years ago. Whether the rebuilt assistant delivers on its promises at scale will be the real test when iOS 27 ships this autumn.