• Source:JND

Apple has been somewhat of a late bloomer when it comes to adding new AI features to their collection, which was launched over a year ago. Other than features like Apple Music’s AutoMix and the Workout Buddy on the Apple Watch, however, most of them have undergone little evolution. That’s expected to change in 2026, however, as Apple plans a major overhaul of Siri’s responsibilities throughout iOS. Apple’s next big move with Siri will be built on the foundation of a deal announced Monday: It has acquired a startup, Voicebot.ai has learnt, that last year connected its voice assistant to Siri while adding advanced features for iPhone users.

Apple Scales Back In-House AI Projects

Apple had once developed ambitious internal AI systems, including one that it called World Knowledge Answers, which was meant to rival ChatGPT and Perplexity. Now, in a shift from that dying project, Apple is now working to integrate Google’ Gemini models instead, according to Gurman.

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Other AI-focused efforts have also been paused:

- An AI-first Safari refresh that will assess the trustworthiness of documents and cross-reference sources

- Wider AI Health programmes, which are currently under review

Some of these projects might come back to the table before WWDC 2026, but for now Apple has a course correction to make.


Previous designs called for placing chatbot-style assistants within specific apps like Safari, Music, TV, Podcasts and Health. That changed after the departure of John Giannandrea, Apple’s top AI strategy executive.

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Instead, what Apple wants to do going forward is have Siri as the single AI interface in all its apps. With the help of things like App Intents, we’ll be able to have Siri do far more complicated stuff inside apps. But Gemini-based Siri could see that capability stretched even further, making the assistant a system-level AI layer rather than a bucket of disparate utilities.

Announcement Timeline

According to Gurman, Apple could launch the new Siri as early as next month in what could be the end-users' most significant change in Apple Intelligence yet.

Apple’s move to make Gemini-backed Siri deeply intertwined across its apps is an evolution away from siloed AI tools towards a holistic assistant. If that does get announced next month, Apple’s Siri reboot could prove to be its most significant AI upgrade yet and change the way we interact with iOS into 2026 and beyond.


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