Apple

Siri has been a touchy subject, as Apple's digital assistant has fallen behind rival AIs from companies like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic. But Apple is hoping to change that by leveraging Gemini to provide Siri with upgraded intelligence while also creating a new dedicated app for its assistant in iOS, iPadOS and macOS, a change it announced at WWDC 2026.

As before, Siri can be summoned with a voice prompt or by holding down an iPhone's power button. Apple's assistant will now emerge from the Dynamic Island to let you know that it's listening. Users will be able to swipe down from the top center of their device's display to launch a new search box where they can ask questions via voice or text.

Apple

For more complicated tasks, Apple is making a standalone Siri app for people looking for a more conversational, chatbot-like experience. From there, they'll be able to see their previous queries and chats (which will be synced across devices via iCloud) while the app gives Siri more room to display detailed text cards and multimedia in response to questions.

Additionally, Siri will have access to a device's camera and will be able to see what's on its screen in order to do things like identify an object in a photo or guess how many calories are in a piece of food. Apple says Siri can also analyze the contents of a receipt to make it easier to figure out how to split the bill when dining out with others. Siri's visual intelligence will even work on the Apple Vision Pro, allowing it to do things like estimate the size of specific products. 

Apple

In macOS, Siri will also get a dedicated keyboard shortcut, allowing users to more easily highlight objects and ask the digital assistant for further information. Based on what you select, there will be several contextual functions Siri can perform, like adding events to your calendar, doing an image search or surfacing additional background info. 

Apple has also created several new intelligent tools when writing, including the ability to generate a draft based on relevant prompts and documents. Users can even fine tune the way Siri responds based on who you are talking to (like a boss or friend). Alternatively, if you're looking for feedback on your work, Siri can proofread docs and provide suggestions about how to make it better. 

Siri AI and the new Siri app are expected to arrive first in the US sometime later this year. Meanwhile, the company says its working on bringing its updated intelligence features to other regions including Europe and China in the future.