Apple is gearing up to reintroduce Siri as a full-fledged standalone chatbot application in iOS 27, with privacy emerging as its primary selling point. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the revamped Siri app will empower users to automatically delete conversation history after 30 days, one year, or retain it indefinitely. This mirrors the options already present in the Messages app and surpasses the privacy controls offered by most competing chatbots. For instance, ChatGPT and similar platforms typically provide only a temporary incognito mode as an optional toggle, whereas Apple aims to embed these protections by default.
Functionality and User Experience
The new Siri app is designed to function similarly to ChatGPT: it will serve as a repository of past conversations, enable users to initiate fresh chats, upload files, and utilize voice commands. Additionally, users can choose whether the app opens to a grid of prior conversations or defaults to a blank new chat each time. This level of customization aims to enhance user convenience while maintaining privacy.
Apple's Partnership with Google
Despite its privacy-centric pitch, Apple is quietly leveraging Google's Gemini models to power the new Siri. The company asserts that all requests will be processed through its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, theoretically preventing Google from training on user conversations. However, Apple has been vague about the specifics of how this arrangement operates at scale, raising questions about the actual privacy safeguards.
Privacy as a Cover for Siri's Shortcomings
Gurman suggests that Apple's emphasis on privacy may also serve as a strategic distraction from Siri's persistent shortcomings. Compared to Google's recent demonstration of Android 17, where AI is deeply integrated across apps and capable of completing complex tasks, Apple still appears to be catching up. Even after a two-year delay, Siri might ship as a beta version, as indicated by internal test builds of iOS 27 that already label the new Siri as a beta and include an option to opt out entirely. With WWDC just weeks away in June, that beta label could persist when iOS 27 is publicly released this fall, marking a humbling position for a feature originally promised in 2024.
Additional Features
Alongside the Siri overhaul, iOS 27 is also expected to introduce a Genmoji upgrade, which will generate suggested emojis based on users' photos and common phrases. This feature aims to enhance personalization and user engagement.
