Siri has never been the smartest virtual assistant, but what is especially disappointing is how it has refused to evolve despite Apple's aggressive push for Apple Intelligence. Two major versions of iOS have come and gone without the supercharged Siri that Apple originally promised. Apple finally announced an improved version of Siri in its WWDC 2026 keynote, and it would appear that the virtual assistant is finally living up to the expectations the company set years ago. We went hands-on with Siri AI and found it to be actually useful in answering complex queries and carrying out chained commands.
Only devices compatible with Apple Intelligence will be receiving Siri AI later this year. This includes every iPhone released since the iPhone 15 Pro, alongside iPad and Mac models powered by Apple silicon. The 2024 iPad mini is also supported since it uses the same SoC as the iPhone 15 Pro. Launch the Settings app, scroll down a bit, and if you spot the Apple Intelligence & Siri section, your iPhone is on track to receive the AI-powered Siri upgrade when the stable release of iOS 27 rolls out this fall.
Interestingly enough, Apple says the new assistant will initially be released as a beta. Users will likely need to manually opt in to access Siri AI, much like those testing the iOS 27 developer beta had to hop on a waitlist. Fortunately, compatibility with iOS 27 should not be a cause of concern, given how Apple is extending support all the way back to the iPhone 11.
Newer iPhones get a more customizable Siri AI
Siri is now better equipped to handle personal requests — it understands context and can reference information from your notes, messages, emails and photos. It is powered by newer Apple Foundation Models that are stored on-device, which should help with both response times and privacy. More complex prompts are offloaded to the bigger models stored on the cloud through Private Cloud Compute, which Apple claims ensures your data is inaccessible to anyone else besides you.
If you own an iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max or the iPhone Air, Siri AI will be able to take advantage of an even more powerful on-device model. This should improve the overall experience, but more importantly, it enables expressive voices for Siri, improved speech recognition and more accurate dictation. The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and rumored iPhone Fold will also enjoy powerful on-device AI models, but it's uncertain if the base model iPhone 18 will too. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is looking to bump up the memory in the non-Pro iPhones to 9GB. However, Apple mentions that its most powerful on-device AI models require at least 12GB of RAM.
We must admit, much of the Apple Intelligence suite so far has been sloppy AI features that don't meaningfully improve the iPhone experience. Siri AI seems to be genuinely useful, though. Even on the beta builds we've tried, the virtual assistant has been fast and accurate.
The rollout of Siri AI marks a turning point for Apple's virtual assistant, which has lagged behind competitors like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for years. Siri's limitations have been a frequent source of frustration for users, especially as smart home devices and AI-powered services have become more sophisticated. Apple's initial foray into AI with iOS 17 and 18 focused on features like improved autocorrect and photo editing, but these incremental updates did little to close the gap. The company's decision to delay the advanced Siri demonstrates the complexity of building a truly capable on-device AI system while maintaining user privacy.
Apple Foundation Models, which power Siri AI, are designed to process natural language queries with greater nuance. For example, users can ask Siri to "find the email from John about the project deadline and add it to my calendar for next Tuesday" — a chained command that previously would have failed. The models are optimized for Apple's Neural Engine, which has been a key component of A-series and M-series chips since the A11 Bionic. Over the years, Apple has increased the number of Neural Engine cores, improving performance for machine learning tasks. The iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip features a 16-core Neural Engine capable of 35 trillion operations per second, while the M4 chip in newer iPads can handle 38 trillion operations per second.
Memory requirements are a critical factor in determining which devices can run the most powerful on-device AI models. The base iPhone 15 Pro has 8GB of RAM, which is sufficient for Apple Intelligence but not for the premium AI model that powers expressive voices and superior dictation. The iPhone 17 Pro and higher models feature at least 12GB of RAM, enabling the full Siri AI experience. Apple's decision to limit the premium AI to devices with 12GB or more memory is consistent with industry trends; modern large language models require substantial RAM to run efficiently on-device. Google's Pixel 8 Pro, for instance, uses 12GB of RAM for its on-device AI features, while Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra features 12GB as well.
The introduction of the iPhone Air in the iPhone 17 lineup adds another layer of complexity. The iPhone Air is rumored to feature a slim design with a reduced cooling system, which could affect sustained AI performance. However, Apple has reportedly optimized the AI models to work within thermal constraints, and early benchmarks suggest the iPhone Air's performance is comparable to the iPhone 17 Pro for most AI tasks. The device will still benefit from the 12GB of RAM, ensuring it can handle the premium on-device model.
Looking ahead to the iPhone 18 series, leaks suggest that Apple may increase RAM in the base model to 9GB, but that would still fall short of the 12GB needed for the most advanced AI features. This could create a tiered AI experience, where only Pro models get the full Siri AI capabilities. The rumored iPhone Fold, which is expected to launch in 2027, is anticipated to include 12GB or more RAM, but its price point may limit its adoption. For now, users with iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 models will get a capable but less feature-rich Siri AI, while those with the latest devices will unlock the assistant's full potential.
Apple's approach to AI privacy is also a key differentiator. Private Cloud Compute uses a dedicated server environment that processes requests without storing data or making it accessible to Apple. This is a major selling point for enterprise users and privacy-conscious consumers. In contrast, competitors like Google and Amazon have faced scrutiny over how they handle voice data. Apple's commitment to on-device processing, combined with secure cloud offloading, positions Siri AI as a privacy-friendly alternative to other virtual assistants.
The beta launch of Siri AI this fall will allow Apple to gather feedback and refine the models before a wider release. Users who opt into the beta will likely need to agree to share usage data to help improve the assistant. This is standard practice for Apple's software betas, though the company has emphasized that data will be anonymized and encrypted. The final version of Siri AI is expected to ship with iOS 27 in spring 2027, giving developers and early adopters several months to test the feature.
In summary, Siri AI represents a significant leap forward for Apple's virtual assistant, but its benefits are not universal. The hardware requirements ensure that only relatively recent iPhones will get the upgrade, and even among those, the experience will vary. Users with iPhone 17 Pro or newer will enjoy the most advanced capabilities, including expressive voices and superior dictation. For everyone else, Siri AI will still be a major improvement over the current version, offering better context understanding and the ability to handle complex multi-step requests. As Apple continues to invest in AI, future updates may further narrow the gap between on-device and cloud-based processing, making Siri a truly competitive assistant in the years to come.
Source: Engadget News