Apple is planning a major AI overhaul for Siri in iOS 18. BloombergK's Mark Grumman says the update will let Siri control all individual features in apps for the first time, expanding the personal assistant's range of functions.
Siri can do things like open specific documents, move a note from one folder to another, delete an email, summarize an article, email a web link, and open a specific news site in Apple News. Will be. Apple plans to use AI to analyze what people are doing on their devices, automatically enabling Siri features.
To do this, Apple engineers had to rebuild Siri's core software with large language models, or LLMs, the same technology used for chatbots like ChatGPT. Apple is working on a deal with OpenAI to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT technology into iOS 18, and it's in talks with Google about adding Gemini, but Siri functionality is likely to be limited by Apple. relies on his LLM work.
At launch, the new Siri functionality will be limited to Apple apps, and Siri will only be able to respond to one command at a time. Eventually, Apple wants Siri to be able to respond to multiple commands, such as taking a photo and then sending it to someone in a message.
While Siri features will be introduced at WWDC 2024, Apple reportedly does not plan to launch them in September when iOS 18 will see its initial release. Instead, Siri will be replaced in a future iOS 18 update that will be introduced in 2025.
In iOS 18, basic AI tasks will be processed on-device, but more advanced capabilities will rely on Apple's cloud servers. Gorman had previously said that Apple would power all early iOS 18 features on-device without relying on cloud technology to protect privacy, but that rumor has changed in recent weeks. Part of Apple's new Siri technology will include code to determine whether a request can be processed on the device or requires Apple's servers. On-device iOS 18 AI capabilities will largely require iPhone 15 Pro or later, and iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 M1 or later to work.
According to the informationApple's AI servers will be powered by the M2 Ultra and M4 chips, with Apple planning to use the Secure Enclave to “help isolate data being processed on its own servers so it can be sent to the wider system or Apple's Can't see through.” Grumman says Apple will also provide users with an “intelligent report” detailing how information is kept secure.
We'll hear all about the AI functionality coming to Siri in just 10 days. WWDC 2024 is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 10.