Apple is preparing to make a major overhaul of its voice assistant. After several years of promises linked to Apple Intelligence which have reached users in a very staggered manner, the company is finalizing a version of Siri is much more conversational, visible, and connected to the entire systemThe key to this change: the assistant will once again have its own standalone app, reviving an idea that Apple already tested before integrating it into iOS.
According to leaked information, mainly through the journalist Mark Gurman (Bloomberg)This relaunch of Siri will be presented at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June and will be deployed generally along with iOS 27 and macOS 27The plan is to turn Siri into a “general-purpose AI agent”, capable of better understanding the user's personal context, moving between applications and managing complex tasks by pulling from emails, messages or notes.
A new Siri as an AI agent integrated throughout the system
The next version of the assistant won't be a simple facelift. The company's plans indicate that Siri will have a much more central role on iPhone, iPad, and Macwith expanded capabilities to control applications, execute chained actions, and query information distributed across the device. The goal is for the user to be able to request complete tasks in natural languageand that the system itself is responsible for orchestrating which apps are involved.
Among the planned functions is the possibility of Siri use personal data from emails, messages, notes, or other content to complete specific tasks, always within Apple's usual framework of control and privacy. A typical example would be requesting a summary of recent communications with a contact, or requesting that documents related to a specific project be located and compiled.
This new phase also reinforces Siri's role as an information filter. The assistant will be able to summarize the daily news from Apple News, generate bullet-point summaries and even accompany them with Relevant images obtained from the web, competing more directly with AI-based search tools such as Perplexity or Google GeminiThe idea is that the user can ask "what's happening" and receive a structured overview instead of a simple list of links.
Furthermore, Apple wants Siri to be more than just a voice-activated assistant. Leaks point to a visual redesign in which The interface will appear at the top of the screenintegrated with the Dynamic Islands and accompanied by an entry box in the style “Search or ask”Once the response has been generated, The interface will expand into a translucent panel. which can be expanded to continue the conversation or launch new related queries.
Siri returns to the standalone app format
The most striking change in Apple's plan is that Siri will no longer be just an “invisible” layer of the system to have their own space again in the form of dedicated appAlthough it will still be possible to summon it with your voice or the iPhone's power button, the company is testing a Siri-only app available on multiple devices of the ecosystem.
This application will have a structure similar to a Chat in the style of the Messages appwhere the user will interact with the assistant by typing or speaking, depending on their preference at any given time. The idea is to create a clear space where Check your Siri conversation history, retrieve previous answers, pick up old threads or start new dialogues without relying solely on isolated commands.
Another of the new app's strengths will be the possibility of upload documents and photos for the assistant to analyzeThis opens the door to more advanced uses, such as requesting summaries of long PDFs, extracting key data from contracts or invoices, or requesting descriptions and context from specific images. In practical terms, it's quite close to the experience currently offered by [unspecified service]. chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claudebut with the advantage of direct integration into iOS and macOS.
This isn't the first time Apple has experimented with Siri as a standalone app. Before its integration into the operating system, the assistant was available in the App Store between February 2010 and October 2011 as a separate application, developed by the original company Siri Inc.After acquiring the company, Apple removed the app to launch Siri as the flagship feature of the app. iPhone 4Sfully integrated into iOS. Now, more than a decade later, the company seems ready to regain that visibility with a much more advanced approach.
The underlying reason for this shift is also cultural within Apple itself. For years, the company has maintained that the best artificial intelligence is the one that It integrates discreetly and almost invisibly. in the system. The new approach, however, assumes that the current user wants to have a specific place to go to “talk to AI”to see what it has done for him and build a more ongoing relationship with the assistant. To better understand this change, it is helpful to review how the new Siri linked to Apple Intelligence has been evolving in recent months.
"Ask Siri" button and gradual replacement of Spotlight
In addition to the standalone app, Apple is working to make Siri compatible with the platform. invade more areas of the interface and cease to be a peripheral function. One of the key innovations will be a “Ask Siri” button integrated into the menus of system apps and, presumably, also in many third-party applications that adopt the new API.
That button will allow request more information about the highlighted textretrieve related emails, expand on an explanation, or launch contextual queries without having to leave the app you're working in. The consequence is clear: Siri goes from being an occasional shortcut to becoming a natural gateway to actions, searches, and automations throughout the system.
In parallel, the company is studying a major expansion of its search engine. SpotlightAccording to leaks, the idea is Gradually replace Spotlight with SiriThis would give the assistant access to more types of internal data, local results, and device content. The search experience on iPhone or Mac would then be much more like "asking Siri" than typing a string of text into a traditional search box.
This change would be accompanied by a unified interface at the top of the screen, with a style field “Search or ask” which would allow both entering search terms and formulating requests in natural language. Furthermore, the Dynamic Islands It would play a relevant role as a visual activation point for the assistant, making its presence more constant and recognizable in everyday life.
If this plan comes to fruition, Siri would no longer compete only with other voice assistants, but would begin to challenge the dominance of [unspecified platform]. Traditional in-device search, Spotlight is now part of app navigationFor Apple, this represents a major reconfiguration of the internal power structure: what was previously handled through menus and manual navigation would now be handled through a centralized conversational layer.
Delays, WWDC, and Apple Intelligence's attempt to rewrite its narrative
This entire redesign comes after a complicated period for Apple in terms of AI. June 2024The company introduced a new generation of Siri associated with Apple Intelligence, with promises of greater personal contextUnderstanding of what appears on the screen and ability to execute hundreds of actions in appsHowever, many of these improvements have been postponed or have only reached users in a very limited way.
Initially, some of the new features were linked to updates such as iOS 26.4But the most ambitious advances were pushed back in the calendar towards iOS 27 and beyond. In practice, what was enthusiastically presented in 2024 may not materialize in its fullest form. until almost two years later, an unusually long timeframe for a company known for its product discipline and vertical integration.
This delay has also had a reputational effect. While Apple postponed features and adjusted its models, rivals like ChatGPT or Google Gemini They consolidated highly visible and easy-to-test experiences for the average user. The risk for the Cupertino firm was clear: that its "arrive late but arrive better" narrative would transform into the feeling of having promised before being readyThis is something that fits even worse with the brand's traditional image.
In that context, the next June WWDC It takes on a special prominence. Reports indicate that it will be the chosen venue to showcase the new version of Siri as deeply integrated AI agentwith a chatbot format, a standalone app, and extended access via "Ask Siri" throughout the system. The company thus seeks not only to present features, but reconstruct the story of how it understands AI in its ecosystem.
This upgrade also comes with an installed base that is approaching 2.500 million active devices worldwide, according to the latest figures shared by Apple. With such a scale, Any progress or failure in Siri has a huge strategic impact, both in the user's perception and in the added value that justifies the prices of the hardware and associated services.
Apple's model versus the major AI platforms
In Europe, and particularly in Spain, this repositioning of Siri comes at a time when Users have already become accustomed to trying different chatbots to stay informed, work, or study. Apple, however, doesn't intend to compete solely in the arena of "who answers an open-ended question best," but rather in the arena of who can do more things within the device itself while respecting privacy and European regulations.
The company's official thesis combines several elements: Deep integration with iOS and macOSintensive use of personal context (calendars, emails, documents, photos) and an approach to privacy that blends on-device processing with dedicated cloud infrastructure for tasks requiring more power. On paper, this allows it to differentiate itself from external solutions that don't have such direct access to the operating system.
That same technical ambition, however, It raises the bar for reliability and safetyGiving an assistant access to sensitive data and the ability to interact across apps requires very fine-tuned permission controls, constant error auditing, and additional safeguards in markets with strict regulations, such as the European Union. The company is aware that It doesn't need the most spectacular AIbut rather the one that users perceive as safest and most consistent within their ecosystem.
From a competitive point of view, the movement of make Siri visible as a standalone app and as an omnipresent layer through “Ask Siri” it also seeks to prevent third-party chatbots become the main gateway to information and productivity on the iPhone or Mac. If European users end up opening an external AI app before the built-in assistant, Apple risks losing some of its daily customer relationship.
Looking ahead to the coming months, everything suggests that the company will try to balance its strategy: on the one hand, offer a clearly more powerful and flexible Siri than the one users know today; on the other hand, maintaining the privacy and local data control commitments that allow it to differentiate itself from other tech giants. The June WWDC This will be the first major test to see to what extent this new approach convinces developers and users, and whether the return of Siri as a standalone application It really serves to place the assistant at the center of the iPhone, the Mac, and the rest of the devices in the ecosystem.
