Apple’s AI promises are finally, almost, like, here

Apple kicked off its annual conference with some bold promises about AI. The company, CEO Tim Cook said, “brings new technology and innovation that limits the possibilities.” But most of his announcements – related to the new “Siri AI” – had more to do with access.

After ignoring Siri and delivering on its AI promises in 2025, Apple jumped into the technology this year. It launched Siri as an all-in-one assistant that connects all your Apple devices, with multimodal, dedicated app, one-of-a-kind AI assistant and more. Management has repeatedly emphasized privacy, saying that unlike many of its competitors, user data that performs business functions is processed on devices and through a “private computer” and then deleted.

Unlike MicrosoftApple isn’t trying to prove it can go head-to-head with the likes of OpenAI or Anthropic without support; Its new Siri is inspired by the Apple Foundation’s models run mainly by Google Gemini. Instead, Apple marketed AI as an add-on, a complement to the devices people already own. “Some seem to be rushing ahead, pursuing AI for AI’s sake…at Apple, our goal has always been to turn technology into something useful and tangible for everyone,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering. “The most effective AI should be tailored to you and your needs.”

As technology companies seek ways to make AI visible a little intimidatingApple’s approach is a good fit. But after years of delay, the new Siri on it won’t arrive until the end of this year, when it goes into beta (and there’s no time for the EU and China, which Apple blames for regulatory issues). What appears shows products that other companies have already introduced. And it’s unclear whether the benefits of Apple’s slow AI strategy will be worth the wait.

The new Siri is supposed to collect information from the Internet, emails, texts, contacts, notes, and calendars, working with first-party apps and external devices alike. Apple asks you when you are free to chat with a friend and cut some of your plans, or allow it to add calendar time with texts or emails (and, perhaps surprisingly, imitate the writing style you use with the recipient, such as your boss versus your best friend). The ever-challenging Dynamic Island will display AI-powered information cards from global events, weather, your calendar and reminders. The Onstage feature showed several options such as asking when the next show of the musician will be, and setting a reminder to buy tickets and play one of their songs, or creating a list of recipes for the World Cup party and sending invitations via text message to the group’s chat – including a menu (implicitly created by AI).

One of the most interesting features, which was announced a long time ago but is now coming to fruition, is Siri notifications on the screen. In the WWDC presentation, the head of Siri Mike Rockwell looked at an Instagram photo of a natural location, asked Siri where it was, then asked to compare the location with a friend’s new address – which was not stored anywhere and was only mentioned once in messages with the friend – and made a way to drive and stop at the friend’s new location. It worked. (Which is more than I can say about my current experience with the iPhone’s amazing text message search.)

The company went further in visual intelligence, allowing AI-edited photos in many models and integrating Siri into the Photos app – users can look at an REI bag and ask if certain shoes will fit in it, or if the bag will work as a carry-on for a particular flight that has already been booked.

Some interesting things that will make the daily life of consumers easier: Apple Intelligence can change your Safari tabs in new ways, apparently. You can use the “explain additional” feature on other websites to have Siri AI generate a vibe-code for you. The one-tap solution will allow Siri AI to update relevant accounts with strong passwords. There will be one instant message for the assistant to create reminders (for example, if a friend texts you to bring his jacket when you hang out tomorrow), or to send someone all the photos you took of them on a given day. If you call a flight, Siri AI will display a small card on the screen of the call with your flight information – something that Apple understands can seem uncomfortable, adding the disclaimer that Siri only tells about who you’re calling, not what you say on the phone.

If all of these things work, Apple can move ahead in the AI ​​assistant race for the same reasons Google is ready to do so. It is ready to attract users who will not download a separate program or accept a small argument – Siri will be included directly in the messages, the conversation with the assistant will appear as an iMessage thread, and the “Ask Siri” button will make its presence obvious. And for some, Apple’s reputation for privacy and security can help ease the problem creepiness factor Helpers – Federighi told the WWDC panel that “secrets in AI are not negotiable” and that user input will be used to answer user requests.

Overall, Apple has been lagging behind in the AI ​​race. The company failed to release the first version of Apple Intelligence so it was delayed it led to social cohesionand it had to turn off AI notifications after falsely telling users that Luigi Mangione shot himself. Last year, it started with a few small, functional changes powered by Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT, designed to help meet some AI workloads in translation, search, visual intelligence, and more. Some were useful, but few made big waves.

This year has been very interesting, but Apple’s new products are still coming out without a doubt. Almost every AI company has a chatbot like Siri, or a scripting assistant like Apple’s Xcode. Siri AI conversations can be synced across various Apple devices, as well as many other chatbots in some way – Google in particular emphasized cloud syncing at this year’s I/O. Although the Siri AI operating system was announced alongside it, macOS Golden Gate, it shares a name with Viral Claude research shows.

And unlike Google, Microsoft, and other major competitors — which appeal mostly to business users who can afford expensive subscriptions — Apple’s approach to AI remains limited. It’s using technology to complement what’s already there, not really change it what are those things. One year after Federighi told the audience at WWDC 2025 that Apple “continues our work to deliver things that make Siri more human,” the company set a deadline to fulfill its promises – but if the promises are fulfilled, it will be thanks to the power of Apple’s entire ecosystem, not the novelty of its AI tools.