Siri's Latest Reboot Is Here

It's time for another reintroduction.

It's time for another reintroduction.

Apple has found itself trailing in the artificial intelligence race for the past few years. However, this position of playing catch-up might, surprisingly, prove to be an advantageous one.

At WWDC this Monday, Apple appears poised to unveil a revamped Siri once more. As a refresher, we first encountered the "new" Siri in 2024 with the launch of Apple Intelligence. This iteration featured a distinct glowing border, various voice options, and the capability to delegate certain queries to ChatGPT. The core "Intelligence" aspects of this Siri redesign, Apple assured us, were "coming soon." They did not. In fact, the company's promotion of Apple Intelligence was so misleading that it is now settling a class-action lawsuit, obliging it to compensate iPhone owners for features never delivered. Ironically, by fumbling so significantly, Apple might have inadvertently stumbled into a beneficial situation.

Let's be clear: if a competition for the leading AI assistant exists, Apple is currently far behind. Gemini is already performing tasks such as ordering ride-shares and food deliveries. It can analyze your calendar to determine optimal departure times for airport travel. Gemini has clearly won this initial sprint.

Gemini is already doing things like ordering Ubers and DoorDashing teriyaki.

Yet, there's also a growing public distrust of AI, particularly among younger generations; the more capable Gemini becomes, the more unsettling it can feel. This level of invasiveness is arguably a prerequisite for an AI to truly deliver on its promise as a helpful assistant. However, the conceptual desire for an AI to anticipate your next move versus the actual experience of witnessing it happen are very different sensations. While I willingly granted Gemini access to my Google Photos and Gmail, hearing Gemini vocalize my son’s name aloud invariably gives me pause. I frequently test these technologies as they emerge—a professional necessity—but the mainstream public's reaction when such features become widely available will be highly revealing.

This latest iteration of Siri is expected to be built upon Gemini's foundation in some capacity. Apple is undoubtedly paying a substantial sum for this privilege, but this indirect approach offers a potential upside. Which major tech company doesn't have its name attached to a massive, often unpopular, data center construction project? Apple. Google isn't gaining public favor by aggressively launching vast construction initiatives across the country. Apple gets to maintain a clean public image, even if its payments to Google are presumably funding these extensive data center developments.

Then there's the "Copilot" phenomenon—the proliferation of AI features everywhere. Siri's current attempts to summarize messages are amusing and often irritating, but at least Siri isn't intrusively prompting to summarize every single one of my work documents. Conversely, it's nearly impossible to open a Google app these days without encountering a persistent Gemini "sparkle," which risks becoming tiresome very quickly.

Don't misunderstand; I believe Apple would eagerly empower Siri to compose my emails, refine my photos into "memories," and guide me through rehabilitating my dying plants. It's simply that Siri currently lacks these capabilities. When we encounter this new, Gemini-enhanced Siri, it will be telling to observe where and how assertively it surfaces. According to Bloomberg's reporting, it sounds as though we will see it integrated into many areas: the Dynamic Island, Photos, and potentially even its own dedicated Siri app for the first time. This represents a significant departure from the largely background, timer-setting voice assistant we currently know.

I suspect Apple will also emphasize its perennial focus: privacy. We can anticipate more details on "Private Cloud Compute," which purports to keep your data as secure as if it had never left your device. The updated Siri may also include an option to automatically delete chats after a specified period, rather than retaining that data by default. Promising a more private, secure AI experience might appeal to individuals who are hesitant about entrusting even more personal information to Google. However, this offers little solace to someone already weary of constant AI interfaces across all their software.

An advantage, especially one discovered by chance, can vanish as swiftly as it appeared.

Apple could readily present its measured AI rollout as a more responsible approach. Google executives once routinely spoke of being "bold and responsible" with AI, but lately, they seem preoccupied with rapidly launching new Gemini features and contemplating the brink of technological singularity. Framing past delays as a commitment to doing things correctly is a reasonable gamble, but the time for false starts is over. Siri must genuinely deliver this time; when such a significant second chance arises, it’s unlikely to be repeated.