Like many people who just installed the new iOS 27, you’re probably wondering why Siri doesn’t quite look like the new all-singing, all-dancing AI assistant you were promised.
Try to start a conversation with it and it will still try to palm you on ChatGPT, or just throw up a load of web links instead of answering you directly. You’d be forgiven for wondering if Siri AI is just another glitch.
Part of the problem is that Apple’s terminology makes it really confusing, but there’s an important difference between iOS 27’s Siri and Siri AI that you need to make. Let me explain.
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Install iOS 27 will give you few new Apple Intelligence features, but it does don’t automatically give you the title new Siri. The big Siri upgrade is Siri AI (beta), which you can apply for, but requires joining a separate waiting list.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you won’t get anything new with iOS 27, so let’s break it down.
What you get in iOS 27 without Siri AI (beta)
Most of the truly dramatic Siri improvements aren’t actually part of regular Siri. With iOS 27, however, you get new Apple Intelligence functions elsewhere on your iPhone.
For example, existing writing tools remain available without Siri AI, while iOS 27 adds things like live translation in messages, FaceTime and phone. There’s also Call Context, which can cover relevant information like an airline confirmation code while you’re on a call, improved Smart Replies, mail suggestions and suggested polls.
Visual Intelligence is another useful AI feature that works without Siri AI. Just click and hold the Camera Control button to activate it.
Visual Intelligence is a way to ask ChatGPT, with your voice or text, about what your camera is looking at, as well as to search for similar things online with Google. You can also use it to identify plants, translate text and turn dates on posters or flyers into calendar events.
There’s also an onscreen version of Visual Intelligence, though it’s a bit clunky to use. Take a screenshot with the Side + Volume Up buttons and you’ll see Visual Intelligence tools appear at the bottom, including Ask, Search, Summarize, and actions like Add to Calendar. Again, when you tap Ask, you can speak your request instead of typing it.
But these are really iOS and Apple Intelligence upgrades, rather than Siri becoming something like ChatGPT. That’s why you need the upcoming Siri AI.
What you will NOT get until Siri AI (beta)
With Siri AI, Apple has a long list of new capabilities that says Siri wins:
- Broad world knowledge – with adequate conversational answers to common questions instead of relying so heavily on search or ChatGPT.
- Personal context – it can find things buried in your mail, messages, photos and note apps, even from fairly natural descriptions.
- Onscreen consciousness – You can ask Siri about anything you’re currently viewing without taking a screenshot. Apple’s examples include asking it to explain a chart in your class notes or comparing two reports in files.
- Much deeper app actions – Apple gives examples including finding information and then composing an email, or editing and sharing a set of photos.
- Real generative writing – in the new version, Siri herself can compose text from scratch, rewrite, correct and write criticism. Without Siri AI, you use the separate writing tools instead.
- Conversation history – there’s an all-new dedicated Siri app that sits on your home screen, with conversations privately synced through iCloud so you can start on one Apple device and continue on another.
- Visual intelligence through Siri – instead of calling up Visual Intelligence separately, you can simply ask Siri questions about what’s on your screen.
- More natural speech and dictation – on supported hardware, Apple says its new on-device model gives Siri more expressive voices, customizable tempo and expressiveness, and improved system-wide dictation. This is one area where Siri is currently well behind Gemini Live and ChatGPT Voice.
- Personal writing style – Siri can apparently learn how to communicate with different people. Apple’s example recognizes that you usually send your manager short bullet points and drafts your text accordingly.
And that’s the Siri AI you don’t have yet.
Join the waiting list
The good news is that you can now join the beta. Go to Settings > Siriwhere you should see Siri AI (Beta) at the top of the screen. Tap Join the waiting list and you will be added to the queue. You will receive a notification when Siri AI is available to you.
There are also some major regional restrictions. Siri AI is not currently available on iPhones or iPads in the European Union, although EU users can access it on Macs and Vision Pro. In mainland China, Siri AI is currently not available at all for users whose Apple account region is set to China.
As I am in the UK, the EU restrictions do not apply to me. I’ve now joined the waiting list, so I’ll be putting Siri AI through its paces as soon as Apple lets me in. Until then, if you’ve installed iOS 27 and wondered why Siri still feels suspiciously like the Siri you had yesterday, there’s a simple explanation: it’s quite a lot.
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