Apple Opens New Siri AI via iOS 27 Public Beta
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- Apple released the iOS 27 public beta, opening the AI-powered Siri overhaul first announced at WWDC in June to everyday users ahead of the full launch this fall.
- The new Siri accesses on-device data including emails, photos, and messages, responds to on-screen content, and grounds answers in world knowledge — Apple's direct answer to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
- Siri is now reachable via "Hey Siri," the side button, or a swipe down from the Dynamic Island, and is integrated into Spotlight alongside a new standalone app.
- The update spans Apple's entire hardware lineup — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay, AirPods, Apple TV, and Vision Pro — reaching the company's 2.5 billion active devices.
- Under the hood, Apple Intelligence Foundation Models run on-device via Apple Silicon and Private Cloud Compute, built in collaboration with Google by distilling the Gemini model — though Apple says its versions are proprietary, not rebranded Gemini.
- Early developer beta tests showed Siri handling photo searches, group-text summaries, calendar entries from texts, and news queries, though it occasionally threw error messages or got confused, including searching contacts for someone named "Iran."
- This year's developer betas have been unusually stable, making the public beta easier to recommend, with the full iOS 27 rollout expected in September.
Why it matters: With 2.5 billion eligible Apple devices, even a sliver of users installing the beta makes this the largest real-world test yet of an on-device assistant built to take on ChatGPT and Gemini. Apple is leaning on Google Gemini as raw material while betting it can differentiate on privacy, integration, and proprietary fine-tuning — a strategy that only pays off if the public rollout holds up in September.
