“Hey Siri” or simply “Siri” may soon be heard more often with the update to iOS 18.
In just a few days, the guessing game about iOS 18 will be over. The leaks and rumors surrounding the new update are piling up: more AI, more features, more options and: a better voice assistant.
Now there is new evidence that further supports the latter. Siri will be a better voice assistant and will be more integrated into the iPhone.
Why this is important: Siri has generated little enthusiasm over the past ten years. Now Apple is finally set to turn things around and make the voice assistant a powerful companion, according to the networked Apple expert Mark Gurman
- With iOS 18, Siri gains access to AI features.
- With the Siri upgrade, Apple is anchoring itself deeply in the device functions at the operating system level as well as in the installed apps.
- This allows the voice assistant to take control of iPhone and iPad apps.
Siri should be able to “send emails, move notes, summarize articles, email web links, and open certain Apple News pages” (not available in Europey).
First, Apple wants to limit Siri’s reactions to one commandIn the future, however, the tech giant is working on assigning more complex tasks to the voice assistant.
Example: Siri creates a GIF from several images and sends it to a selected contact.
However, there is a potential catch: Although the »new Siri« is to be presented on June 10 at the WWDC, it could be integrated according to the portal MacRumors but not until 2025 as part of a newer iOS 18 version.
It remains to be seen whether this will prove to be true or whether the new voice assistant for 2024 will be announced with the famous phrase “Later this year”.
Apple should (partially) prioritize data protection
Unlike Samsung and Google, Apple is pursuing the approach of providing all AI functions exclusively on the device and without the cloud, according to reports in recent weeks.
However, according to Mark Gurman, the approach has changed.
- While basic AI functions in iOS 18 will continue to be processed only on the device, some of the new Siri technology will include code that determines whether the task is processed on the device or in the cloud.
- It is also likely that Apple will reserve certain AI features exclusively for the newer Pro models. It is quite possible that – similar to Samsung and Google – the latest features will gradually be transferred to older models.
In addition to iOS 18, there will also be news about Apple’s other operating systems at WWDC 2024. iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 will also benefit from the new AI features that Apple will introduce to us. Hardware announcements are not expected at the developer conference.
