Apple Reaffirms 2026 AI-Powered Siri Launch
Apple has reaffirmed that it is on track to launch a revamped, AI-powered version of its Siri voice assistant this year, despite rumors of delays. Concurrently, the company rolled out watchOS 26.3 and other software updates with a focus on security and stability fixes for its device ecosystem.
- The revamped Siri is powered by Apple's internal large language model framework, codenamed "Ajax," which was developed using Google's JAX machine learning framework. Spearheading this initiative are John Giannandrea, Apple's head of machine learning and AI, and Craig Federighi, the senior vice president of Software Engineering. - To handle the increased processing demands, Apple is enhancing the Neural Engine in its upcoming A18 and M4 chips, which are expected to feature more AI computing cores. The M4's Neural Engine can perform up to 38 trillion operations per second, and the A18's is rumored to be even more powerful. - Apple's core strategy emphasizes on-device AI processing to enhance user privacy and reduce latency, a contrast to competitors who primarily rely on cloud-based solutions. For more complex tasks, Apple will use a "Private Cloud Compute" solution to maintain security. - In addition to its in-house models, Apple has reportedly formed a partnership with Google to integrate its Gemini models to power some of the new AI features. A collaboration with OpenAI has also been established to integrate some of its technology. - The AI overhaul for Siri was first announced at WWDC 2024, but has faced internal development "snags" and delays. While some features may be spread across later software updates like iOS 26.5 or iOS 27, Apple has publicly stated the launch is still on track for 2026. - Analysts predict that the introduction of "Apple Intelligence" will trigger a significant iPhone upgrade cycle. Projections suggest this AI-driven demand could lead to the sale of upwards of 240 million iPhones in the 2025 fiscal year.
