Apple Is Reportedly Building a More Conversational Siri Powered By LLMs

According to Bloomberg (paywalled), Apple is developing a new version of Siri powered by large language models (LLMs). TechCrunch reports: The new assistant reportedly will fully replace the Siri interface that users rely on today, and Apple is planning to release the feature in the spring of 2026. The feature seems like it will be similar to OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode but with all the same access to personal information and apps that Siri has today. Until then, Apple is relying on third parties to power the iPhone's advanced AI features.

Siri started it all

[Tony Isaac]

But then Apple let it slowly rot, until it became almost useless. It's good that they are updating it, even if a little late to the party. Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT each already have AI voice assistants that are quite good. Alexa, on the other hand, just wants to sell you stuff.

Re:

[bill_mcgonigle]

```
Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT each already have AI voice assistants that are quite good
```

Which will all be much better in eighteen months when Apple first fields their offering.

I wonder if Apple will grant their own assistant special permissions to do OS tasks to make up for the gap in experience.

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[Tony Isaac]

I'm certain that by then, all of the AI chatbots will be equipped to do this. Gemini can already perform a lot of OS tasks in Android, like turning Bluetooth on and off, controlling settings, launching apps, starting timers, starting navigation. Copilot is sure to follow soon.

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[allo]

Google Assistant did all this before.
Gemini talks less stiff, but the functions are not that new.

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[NoMoreACs]

```
Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT each already have AI voice assistants that are quite good
```

Which will all be much better in eighteen months when Apple first fields their offering.

I wonder if Apple will grant their own assistant special permissions to do OS tasks to make up for the gap in experience.

Siri already has "special permissions" to do many tasks, and can even execute scripts, called "Shortcuts", and Apple means to expand that ability. But Siri lacks Contextual "Awareness". It's simply not Conversational. Adding that will give the illusion, at least, of "greater intelligence".

The difference will be that Apple will do it without data-raping the User.

Re:Siri started it all

[jenningsthecat]

Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT each already have AI voice assistants that are quite good. Alexa, on the other hand, just wants to sell you stuff.

How long do you think it will be before Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, and everything else like them will also "just want to sell you stuff"? Rest assured, that's a matter of when, not if. After all, ChatGPT is already being used to analyze and predict behaviour to improve targeted marketing [aicontentfy.com]. I believe that using the results of such LLM analyses to serve advertising within LLM query answers is only a matter of time.

I think that eventually ALL such services will devolve into tiers of service wherein - if you pay enough for premium service - you might be able to avoid advertising. But even then, your queries - along with every other bit of Web activity you engage in - will still be used to better target you whenever you're exposed to advertising via your devices.

Advertising is a contagious cancer.

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[Tony Isaac]

Google voice assistant has been around since 2016, and it still doesn't try to sell stuff. Maybe Google knows that if they start following the path of Alexa, people will stop using their assistant too.

Ad targeting? Absolutely. Chrome, for example, doesn't directly advertise, but it certainly does track where you go in order to help Google sell ads. Google has been smart to keep the two parts (the browser, and the advertisements) just far enough apart to give people what they want (a good web browser) withou

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[CapS]

If it doesn't try to sell you stuff, it'll try to sell your personal information to other companies.

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[MachineShedFred]

Microsoft and Google are not charities.

If you aren't paying for it, then they're selling you to someone else to pay for it. I don't know why everyone expects these companies to dump hundreds of millions of dollars into these things and not get a return on investment, but somehow still survive as a company.

Notice that the AI companies that aren't behemoths have paid plans where they don't share your info? What do you think that's about?

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

Yes, this is absolutely correct, and TBH, I'm OK with that. The model of selling ads to cover the cost of "free" stuff is as old as newspapers, radio, and television. So Google raises the bar by making it possible for advertisers to placed ads in front of me that are more relevant to me...I don't see that as ominous. I like the free stuff they offer me, and I'll keep using it as long as they don't make the advertising annoying.

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[Jeremi]

I kind of like the fact that Siri doesn't get "smarter". It means I can rely on Siri to react to my prompts in a consistent fashion, rather than having the same request produce different results each time. When all I want to do is set a timer to let me know when my laundry is done, being dumb and reliable is a good thing.

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[Tony Isaac]

I get that! And you even know what jokes she's going to tell, before you ask!

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[NoMoreACs]

But then Apple let it slowly rot, until it became almost useless. It's good that they are updating it, even if a little late to the party. Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT each already have AI voice assistants that are quite good. Alexa, on the other hand, just wants to sell you stuff.

Apple didn't "let it rot"; rather, they discovered over time (remember, Apple didn't develop Siri; they simply bought it, and hired the two main Devs.) that Siri was not properly designed to be as extensible as Apple, and its users, wanted it to be. So, it became more and more spaghetti-code, getting creakier and crankier as the bolt-ons and chewing gum and bailing wire patches started tripping over each other.

Frankly, like Windows, it's somewhat amazing it works at all.

Siri is about five years past needing

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

I think you description of spaghetti code and creakiness is a nice definition of "letting it rot."

Though Windows has its share of issues, I wouldn't put it in the same ballpark as Siri, when it comes to code maintenance. Microsoft has revamped and re-revamped Windows and strengthened it greatly over time. BSODs used to be a daily occurrence. You used to have to reboot daily just to keep the leaky OS from running out of memory. These days, I can't remember the last time I had a BSOD, and I leave it running f

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[NoMoreACs]

I think you description of spaghetti code and creakiness is a nice definition of "letting it rot."

Then you think wrongly.

"Letting it rot" means to ignore, refuse to even attempt to fix or improve.

Apple worked hard, trying to fix Siri's baked-in architectural problems without resorting to starting from scratch. But they just kept falling further and further behind.

Hence the Rewrite (finally!). But they haven't "let it rot". Not ever.

And I require proof that since NT, at least, Windows has been ground-up rewritten several times.

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[Tony Isaac]

You prove that Apple has "worked hard" to fix Siri, and I'll prove that Microsoft has rewritten Windows. The fact is, you don't know this to be true. What I look at is evidence, and the evidence is that Siri has fallen behind other voice assistants, a clear indication of lack of investment. Windows, on the other hand, has continued to become more stable and more scalable over time, making it an excellent choice for servers.

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[NoMoreACs]

You prove that Apple has "worked hard" to fix Siri, and I'll prove that Microsoft has rewritten Windows. The fact is, you don't know this to be true. What I look at is evidence, and the evidence is that Siri has fallen behind other voice assistants, a clear indication of lack of investment. Windows, on the other hand, has continued to become more stable and more scalable over time, making it an excellent choice for servers.

Here is the History of Siri. Note that the incremental improvements and added capabilities connote continuous, ongoing Development.

https://thinglabs.io/the-histo... [thinglabs.io]

Siri already does a lot of things that it couldn't do originally:

https://www.simplymac.com/ios/... [simplymac.com]

Here's a bit of a short-range Siri Roadmap:

https://www.techradar.com/phon... [techradar.com]

Back to you!

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

Your links show that Apple has done a "bunch of stuff" to Siri. They don't show that Apple has "worked hard" to "fix" Siri. What we all have experienced is Siri gradually slipping behind its competitors. Whatever effort Apple was putting into it, it's clear that it wasn't enough to keep up.

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[NoMoreACs]

Your links show that Apple has done a "bunch of stuff" to Siri. They don't show that Apple has "worked hard" to "fix" Siri. What we all have experienced is Siri gradually slipping behind its competitors. Whatever effort Apple was putting into it, it's clear that it wasn't enough to keep up.

I wish I could find the article I read about three years ago (I think), where some Apple Software higher-ups were saying basically what I said about Siri being a bit of a mess, that sometimes, even simple stuff like just adding a new Keyword would require a complete Recompile and Apple was seriously considering basically a ground-up Rewrite of Siri.

I think it was Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior V.P. of Software Engineering, that was saying this, and I thought I read it on MacRumors; but it pretty-much hinte

We know

[GrahamJ]

Isn't this what Apple already announced?

Most Obvious Move Ever

[Blackeneth]

Even I thought of it — a year ago.

Siri never told me a good joke....

[bsdetector101]

Never really used Siri.

Swamp castle

[sinij]

Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get, lad: the strongest castle in these islands.