How a major Siri upgrade from Apple Intelligence could be the game-changer we’ve been waiting for

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Ever since Apple announced its new AI features in June at WWDC 2024, iPhone users have been eagerly awaiting a much-needed Siri update. Apple promised major improvements to the outdated voice assistant, but those have yet to materialize, along with most of Apple Intelligence’s features.

Recent rumors indicate that Apple still has a long-awaited Siri overhaul in the works, specifically a completely new version of Siri powered by a large language model (LLM) – that’s the same technology that ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini use.

An “LLM Siri” could not only give the voice assistant the innovation it desperately needs, but also vastly improve the iPhone user experience. Here’s how it could work and when Apple could release it.

How an LLM Siri upgrade could transform Apple Intelligence

On Thursday, BloombergMark Gurman reported that Apple is developing a new version of Siri powered by a large language model, similar to ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

The new and improved Siri will include more conversational language, better understanding of prompts, expanded capabilities, and better app integration using App Intents. It will be the most dramatic overhaul of Siri since its launch in 2010.

All the Siri cynics among us might scoff at the idea of ​​such a major update to Apple’s aging voice assistant, but there’s reason to be optimistic. An LLM Siri could finally deliver on the promise of what voice assistants were always meant to be: intelligent digital helpers that can perform tasks for you on your phone using simple voice commands.

LLM technology could solve many of the shortcomings holding Siri back. For example, an LLM Siri would have the contextual insight to answer follow-up questions or ‘remember’ previous conversations or preferences.

It would also have the understanding to correctly interpret complex commands and questions. Currently, Siri can only perform basic tasks correctly, such as making a phone call or setting an alarm. An LLM Siri can compose an email for you or perhaps even post a photo to social media or let you interact with third-party apps via voice commands.

Improved app integrations could be a crucial upgrade for Siri, which is why more emphasis on app intents is so notable. App Intents allow developers to effectively translate how their app functions so that Apple Intelligence can understand it and control the app through a user’s voice commands. As more apps start using App Intents, Siri could become an AI multi-tool that you can use to control your entire device without having to manually open apps.

Would a new Siri clash with Apple’s privacy culture?

An LLM Siri could bring a slew of much-needed improvements to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. However, it does pose potential privacy risks. Apple will have to navigate carefully for the new version of Siri to be successful.

LLMs use massive amounts of training data to understand questions, conversations, images, and more. For example, when ChatGPT generates an email draft for you, it bases that text on millions of examples of similar emails it looks at in the training data.

The problem with this process is that it can be difficult to keep data completely private while training and using an LLM. Technically, the AI ​​learns from it each interaction it has, which means data is (usually) stored in some capacity.

This has long caused problems for existing LLM AI platforms. Italy, for example, banned ChatGPT back in 2023 over concerns that the AI ​​was storing personal information in its training data.

Apple seems to be already planning ahead for this. In June, it announced Private Cloud Compute, a service that uses private Apple servers running on secure M3 chips to process anonymized user data for Apple Intelligence features. Apple emphasized at WWDC 2024 that any personal or identifying information required for Apple Intelligence will only be stored on users’ individual devices, and never in the cloud or on Apple servers.

That approach is unique among the major AI players, at least so far. If the new LLM-powered version of Siri performs as well as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, Apple’s unique private alternative to those platforms could lift it to the top of the AI ​​market.

When will the LLM Siri update be released?

If you’re as excited about the possibilities of a major Siri upgrade as we are, you’re probably already wondering when you’ll be able to use it. Unfortunately, it will be a long wait.

Apple has kept things fairly airtight so far on when exactly it will launch, but current rumors point to a Spring 2026 release date. We expect iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 to launch in Summer or Fall 2025 are launching, but it looks like the big Siri update won’t be part of the initial release for those software updates. Like the first samples of Apple Intelligence features this year, it will later arrive as a version update in iOS 19/iPadOS 19/macOS 16.

That’s disappointing news, considering Apple has been generating excitement about a new and improved Siri since announcing Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024. However, I’m hardly surprised by the long wait. All Apple Intelligence features will slowly trickle in over the next year.

The question is: will that long wait leave Apple too far behind to catch up with Meta and Google? We’ll have to wait and see.

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