Siri AI Becomes Apple's Everything Tool: iOS 27 Public Beta Brings Major Overhaul

Apple has made iOS 27 public beta available for iPhone owners, giving the general public first access to the long-promised revamped Siri, unveiled as “Siri AI” at WWDC in June. The company has expanded the original voice controls, adding a chatbot-style app and weaving the assistant more deeply into the iPhone user experience.

Initial impressions show that Siri AI is a significant improvement, making the assistant genuinely useful for navigating the phone and for tasks beyond voice commands. For example, Siri could find old vacation photos, send quick texts, and recommend a pancake spot based on simple prompts. While not flawless, the new Siri is worth trying, especially for users who rarely used the previous version.

Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC, notes: “They've integrated it across the entire ecosystem, so you can access Siri AI no matter where you are on the device. You can talk to it. You can also access it via an app. The accessibility and integration are really well done.”

After downloading the beta, users must join a Siri wait list in settings. One of the most noticeable changes is the new chatbot app, which acts as an interaction log. However, it currently lacks memory features; users must repeatedly remind Siri of their preferences, such as being vegan.

Siri AI uses personal context by indexing device data – texts, calendars, photos. For instance, Siri can gather details about an upcoming order from TikTok Shop or remind you to buy movie tickets that friends discussed in a group chat. Users can control which apps Siri can learn from in settings.

The assistant is also built into the search function; swiping down brings up a search bar where you can type or dictate. Siri can analyze onscreen content – e.g., when scrolling news about singer Lorde, ask where she said it and Siri finds the context. The camera app has a new Siri tab that automatically analyzes images and provides explanations.

Siri AI is available on iPhone 15 Pro and newer, as well as iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro. The “Write with Siri” feature allows composing messages by simply stating desired content. While Android users are already familiar with similar capabilities like Google Gemini, Siri AI represents a step change for millions of iPhone users in how they interact with their smartphones.