Apple is (finally) refreshing Siri

Hollywood isn’t the only behemoth whose strategy involves leaning into reboots. On Monday, Apple announced an all-new version of Siri during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), a move that could bring its 15-year-old glorified timer digital assistant up to speed with AI rivals like ChatGPT and Claude.

What’s new: Outside of its timer and alarm responsibilities, the rebuilt Siri (what Apple is calling “Siri AI”) will be able to factor personal information on a user’s iPhone into answers, such as referring to a user’s photos, messages, calendar events, etc. when responding to queries.

Additionally, Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen, or go out to the web to get up-to-date information using broad world knowledge and generate a helpful answer. Siri 2.0 will be available both in a standalone app and on-device, and also comes with a more conversational chatbot-like interface.

Why so Siri-ous?

After announcing an ambitious set of AI features two years ago at WWDC 2024, Apple has struggled to deliver upon these promises, recently agreeing to pay $250 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of “misleading consumers” about Apple Intelligence’s availability and performance. And while Apple stock keeps heading higher, AI disappointments have spurred short-term selloffs over the past couple of years.

Catching up in the AI race has been seen as a clear priority for Apple and incoming CEO John Ternus (more on that in a sec). Earlier this year, it struck a deal with Google for Gemini to power new Apple Intelligence and Siri features, allowing Apple to focus on its AI products and features, not the models that underpin them.

The initial result of this partnership and renewed concentration was revealed yesterday; in addition to a rebuilt Siri, Apple showcased iOS 27, its upcoming software release that it hopes will deliver the next generation of Apple Intelligence:

• Bloomberg reports iOS 27 is being positioned internally as Apple's "Snow Leopard" moment, a reference to the 2009 Mac OS X release that focused entirely on under-the-hood performance rather than new features.
• The implication being that iOS 27 is preparing Apple's software stack for everything that comes next, including a foldable iPhone expected as early as this fall.

Hello, goodbye: This year’s WWDC likely marks the last major event for departing CEO Tim Apple Cook, a longtime supply chain exec who, after taking over from the hardware-focused Steve Jobs in 2011, went on to guide Apple from a $350 billion company to one worth more than $3 trillion, and built one of the most profitable businesses in corporate history. During his tenure, Apple expanded beyond the iPhone into services, wearables, custom silicon, and privacy-focused features.

The September 1 installation of incoming CEO John Ternus, who like Jobs comes from a hardware background, marks a shift into the company’s next phase. Analysts view the board's choice of Ternus as reflecting an internal view that Apple's next decade will be defined by hardware-software co-design.

Investors aren’t stoked so far…Shares in Apple fell ~2% yesterday, as many of the new AI features the company announced were similar to advances that were previously unveiled and delayed.