Siri AI: Apple bets on a hybrid AI architecture with the Confidential Cloud Compute cloud

Apple’s Siri voice assistant has received the most extensive update in its history, evolving into a full-fledged AI assistant called Siri AI. The basis of the new system is the Apple Intelligence platform with a special architecture developed in technological cooperation with Google on the basis of Gemini models. This long-awaited update is designed to radically change the experience of interacting with devices in the ecosystem and bring the capabilities of AI to a new level of understanding.

Siri AI operating system

The need to update the assistant is long overdue: the company directly points out that there have been many scenarios where much more flexibility was required from the traditional Siri. The new Siri AI has become an order of magnitude smarter. Now the assistant is able to maintain complex long conversations, remembering the context of previous phrases, use relevant knowledge about the world in real time, and directly access the user’s personal data from various applications.

The assistant interface is fully integrated into the interactive Dynamic Island on the iPhone. To call the assistant, it is now enough to swipe down on the screen, press the side button or say the familiar phrase Hey Siri. The voice engine has also undergone a large-scale modernization: intonations and pronunciation have become much more lively and expressive, and advanced voice settings are available to the user even at the stage of the first configuration of the device.

Main characteristics and functionality

Thanks to the integration of deep machine learning, the assistant copes with complex multi-stage task chains. At Apple’s demonstrations, real examples of everyday AI work were shown:

• Multi-level context: A user inquired about tickets to a performance by Sookie Waterhouse. Having learned that the tickets are distributed according to the lottery system, the assistant instantly set up a reminder to start registration at the user’s first request.
• Visual context and geolocation: Siri was able to identify an attraction by a photo, quickly navigated a route to the specified location, and found photos from a past trip, offering to add them to a shared album for the family.
• Synthesis of information from programs: In response to a request for a dessert, the recipe of which was previously mentioned at one of the events, the assistant scanned the correspondence history, highlighted the important ingredients, made a detailed menu and prepared a ready-made message template with a list of dishes to send to friends.

A new Siri application is available to users, which allows you to study the log of past sessions and instantly resume communication from anywhere. Thanks to automatic synchronization via iCloud, the history of your dialogues is available on all brand devices. In addition to iOS 27, the program is adapted for smart watches running watchOS.

On Mac desktop computers, the AI ​​voice assistant is deeply integrated with the Spotlight system search bar and is always available with a right-click on any window or file. And for the Apple Vision Pro spatial headset based on visionOS, a special 3D assistant widget has been developed, which can be placed virtually anywhere in the workspace.

Technological basics and security of personal data

The power of Apple Intelligence is based on the hybrid model of the Apple Foundation, in the creation of which Google was actively involved. The architecture is designed to optimally distribute resources between the gadget’s own hardware and the advanced capabilities of the Confidential Cloud Compute cloud. The developers claim that this approach enables advanced personal insight, deep contextual thinking, and advanced multimodal AI support.

The Apple Intelligence suite of functions provides access to the generation and retouching of images, interactive visualization of information in dialogs, and advanced photo correction. Some flagship chips deploy an advanced language model with ultra-precise speech analysis and high-quality adaptation to the user’s natural speaking manner, although Apple has so far disclosed the details of this technical division in a limited manner.

In terms of data security, the highest standard of confidentiality is declared: user information is transferred to the server in encrypted mode and is consumed locally for a one-time specific search request. Access to the data is closed to third parties or Apple directly, and independent IS audit companies will have full access to monitor the protection of the systems at any time.

Compatibility list

All of Apple Intelligence’s advanced neural network tools and intelligent voice assistants require a significant margin of CPU performance and local NPU support. The functions of the new neural network will be stably supported by the following equipment:

• iPhone family 16 or later;
• iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max;
• iPad mini on the A17 Pro chip;
• Any versions of iPad based on Apple M1 processors or newer revisions;
• Mac family on M1 series processors and older;
• Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headsets;
• Apple Watch Series 10 and newer, sporty Apple Watch Ultra 2 or newer, and available Apple Watch SE 3 (only when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled smartphone).

Regional restrictions and testing launch dates

The first closed builds of the new system and functionality of Siri AI have already been handed over to testers within the Apple Developer Program ecosystems for beta development of the iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and spatial visionOS 27 platforms.

For ordinary users who have the right set of compatible equipment, the launch of a wide open beta test in English is scheduled for the second half of this year. Over time, the geography of coverage of system models will increase significantly.

The global language localization covers the following regions and adverbs: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Norwegian, Turkish, Danish, Dutch, Vietnamese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Important launch limitation: Due to regulatory legal nuances and EU digital acts, Siri AI will not initially be available for iPhone and iPad in the European region. Residents of Europe with a Mac, Apple Watch or Apple Vision Pro headsets will receive the full functionality of Siri AI only when set in the settings of one of the officially supported locations. A complete block on the distribution of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI is imposed on China.