Despite incremental updates to Apple's Siri since its 2011 launch, the voice assistant lags behind its rivals, leading to calls for a major overhaul or replacement. Persistent issues with Siri's functionality have degraded its reputation, with user frustrations mounting over its poor contextual understanding.

Safari, Spotlight Search, and Siri will gain significant AI-related enhancements with the release of iOS 18. One of the key features in the works for Safari is text summarization. Siri will also receive a similar update, allowing it to generate responses to relay the content of messages in a simplified way. Apple's AI model will generate basic responses entirely on-device. More advanced replies or text summaries will need server-side processing.

Apple's AI approach focuses on practical uses and improving user experiences rather than just showcasing technological prowess. A group of Apple researchers has been working on a way to use Siri without needing to use a wake word. Instead of listening for “Hey Siri,” the device might be able to intuit whether the user is talking to it. It will also know whether the user is asking a follow-up or new question.

Details about Siri's new functionalities as well as prompts that Apple used to test the software have been leaked. Many of the prompts used contain natural language, often detailing descriptions of what the user is trying to do along with arguably superfluous details. Several core apps, including Notes, Photos, Safari, and Mail, will be getting enhanced Siri features in iOS 18. This article looks at all of the enhanced Siri features coming in iOS 18 and other updates that can be expected in iOS 18 and macOS 15.

Apple's new AI ecosystem, centered on an overhauled Siri, enables users to accomplish any action via voice command, leveraging "App Intents" to integrate multiple apps seamlessly. With iOS 18, developers are encouraged to fully expose their apps' capabilities, allowing Siri to recognize on-screen content and support natural voice control. The system's success hinges on widespread developer adoption of App Intents.

Siri received a big update in iOS 18's latest developer preview. The update comes with meaningful improvements to language understanding. Future updates will add features like awareness of what's happening on users' screens and the ability to take actions on users' behalf. This article takes a look at the updated Siri and the other AI features introduced in the developer preview.