AI
Apple's New Siri AI Expands to the Entire iPhone Ecosystem
The revamped voice assistant now includes a chatbot app, on-device indexing, and deep integration across iOS 27, promising iPhone users a fundamentally different way to interact with their phones.
WIRED — AI
Apple's redesigned Siri is finally reaching everyday iPhone users through the iOS 27 public beta, marking the first mass release of the artificial intelligence-powered assistant that the company showcased at its WWDC event last June. The updated tool moves well beyond the limited voice commands of the original Siri, embedding itself throughout the iPhone's interface and adding capabilities that could reshape how users navigate their devices.
The New Siri Interface#
The most visible change is a chatbot-style app that logs your Siri conversations and lets you revisit or branch off from previous chats. While it resembles tools like ChatGPT or Claude, it currently lacks features common in those platforms—such as memory functions that would remember your dietary preferences across sessions. Apple has positioned this as an early release, suggesting it will add more capabilities over time.
Users can control how long conversations are kept by visiting Settings > Siri AI > Keep Conversations, choosing to retain them indefinitely, for one year, or just 30 days. The conversation app itself functions mainly as a searchable archive rather than a primary interaction point, since Siri is now woven directly into the iPhone's search bar at the top of the home screen.
Understanding Your Personal Life#
The real power of the new Siri lies in its ability to tap into your phone's contents. During a multi-week indexing process—labeled "Optimizing Search and Siri" in the settings—the device builds a searchable database of your messages, calendar events, photos, and other personal data. This allows Siri to provide contextually informed answers without you having to specify details.
According to Josh Clark, principal at design firm Big Medium, "Siri AI has access to the kind of context that things like ChatGPT and Claude can't easily have, because Siri is cooked into the operating system." A user asking what's on their plate for the week can get a unified view pulled from text threads about incoming deliveries, group chats about movies friends want to see, and calendar entries for birthdays and events.
Users uncomfortable with Siri accessing specific apps can disable this feature through Settings > Siri AI > App Access, toggling "Learn from this App" off for any application.
