Apple is just weeks away from unveiling iOS 27 at WWDC 2026 , and for the first time in a long time, almost all eyes are on Siri. After years of trickle-in promises of artificial intelligence, the company is preparing to launch a thoroughly revamped version of the assistant, with a new design, new features, and a different way of handling personal data.
According to several leaks from Mark Gurman and other media outlets, the big news will be a completely rebuilt Siri with generative AI , integrated throughout the system but also available as a standalone app. The strategy, especially relevant for Europe and Spain due to privacy regulations, involves offering functionalities comparable to ChatGPT or Gemini, but with much stricter data controls.
A completely new Siri: from voice assistant to AI agent
The version of Siri that will arrive with iOS 27 will bear little resemblance to the one iPhone owners have been using for years. Apple has redesigned the assistant as a conversational agent capable of two-way dialogues, better understanding context, and executing actions within applications, instead of being limited to simple voice commands.
Internally, this new Siri relies on both Apple's own AI models and Google's Gemini AI , thanks to an agreement the Cupertino company has been working on for some time. It's a striking move: iOS's direct mobile rival, Android, will simultaneously be one of the technical components powering the iPhone's artificial intelligence.
This new approach transforms Siri into more than just a question-answering assistant. The idea is that it can act as an "agent" that understands what's on the screen , knows the content of messages, handles files and images, and, when necessary, delegates to external models to provide the best possible response, without the user having to worry about which engine is responding at any given time.
Visually, Apple will also use iOS 27 to revamp how Siri appears on screen . Activation will no longer be relegated to the classic animation at the bottom of the screen but will be fully integrated into the Dynamic Island, with a new pill-shaped animation and an interface designed to blend search, questions to the assistant, and rich results.
The standalone Siri app: a chatbot in the style of ChatGPT
One of the biggest differences from previous versions is that Siri will have its own dedicated app for the first time in iOS 27 , separate from the rest of the system. Until now, the assistant was hidden behind the button and voice commands, without a clear space to manage conversations or files.
In this new app, the main screen will display a grid of recent conversations with the assistant . Each card will provide direct access to a previous chat, similar to how most leading chatbots on the market work today. There will also be a search bar to locate past requests and a "+" button to start a new conversation.
The application will offer at least two different views for conversation: a chatbot-like mode, very similar to ChatGPT , with text bubbles and a classic chat structure, and another mode with an appearance closer to a message conversation, designed for those who prefer a less "technical" interface.
At the bottom of the app, users will find a text field labeled “Ask Siri ,” accompanied by a microphone icon for voice commands and an additional “+” button that allows them to upload images, documents, or other files to provide context for the conversation. This will bring the experience closer to that of services like Gemini or ChatGPT, but integrated directly into the operating system.
Privacy and automatic deletion of conversations: Apple's main argument
If there's one area where Apple intends to differentiate itself from OpenAI, Google, Meta, or Anthropic, it's in data handling. The company wants privacy to be the central theme of Siri's AI narrative in iOS 27 , something especially sensitive in European countries, where the GDPR imposes strict conditions on the use of personal information.
The new Siri app will include a configurable automatic conversation deletion system . Users can choose to have chats deleted every 30 days, after one year, or kept indefinitely. This mechanism is similar to the message retention settings in the Messages app, but applied to chat history using AI.
Furthermore, it has been leaked that there will be temporary conversation modes , similar to the "ephemeral chats" already available on Gemini. In these cases, conversations are automatically deleted upon logging out, designed for those who want to make a quick inquiry without leaving a trace.
This is all part of a broader strategy: integrating privacy protections into the system itself , rather than relying on "private" or "incognito" modes that the user has to manually activate. This approach can be particularly appealing to European organizations, regulated sectors (healthcare, banking, legal), or shared devices.
The big question is to what extent a limited history affects AI's ability to learn from the user . Many conversational assistants rely on remembering past preferences and conversations; Apple is willing to sacrifice some of that memory in exchange for gaining trust and reducing regulatory risks.
Siri as an "orchestration layer" for other AIs
Beyond its own model and integration with Gemini, Apple wants Siri to become a kind of orchestration layer for different AIs . The idea, outlined by Gurman, is that the system can decide when to use local iPhone models, when to use Apple's cloud, and in which cases to route the request to a third-party service.
This approach would materialize in a system of extensions for Siri , allowing the integration of chatbots and specialized agents within the assistant itself. In this way, a query on a very specific topic could be automatically redirected to a model from an external partner, always under the permissions and privacy controls defined by Apple.
In the interface, this philosophy will be reflected in a new "Search or Ask" bar linked to the Dynamic Island . By swiping down from the top center of the screen, iOS 27 will display a unified field where the user can both search the system and ask a question to the assistant. From there, it will be possible to switch between using Siri or delegating the query to services like ChatGPT or Gemini; this aligns with proposals such as the integrated AI search engine that has been mentioned in leaks.
Apple is pursuing a pragmatic goal: to ensure users don't have to think about which AI is responding , but simply receive the best possible answer within a controlled environment. For startups and AI providers, this could represent an opportunity to integrate directly into the iPhone experience, though it also means competing for a very limited space within a closed ecosystem.
A Siri in permanent "beta" and presentation at WWDC 2026
Another striking detail of this new phase is that the AI-powered Siri in iOS 27 will arrive with a "Beta" label visible both in the settings and within the assistant app itself. And all indications are that this label won't disappear immediately after the system's official release.
Apple has already followed this strategy with Apple Intelligence and other features: maintaining the beta status for months as a way to manage expectations and make it clear that it's an evolving technology. In practical terms, this doesn't necessarily mean the service is unstable, but it does allow the company to introduce significant changes without promising a completely finished experience from day one; in fact, this approach is reflected in its recent beta program .
The schedule, in any case, is fairly well defined. Apple has set June 8, 2026, at 19:00 PM (Spanish Peninsula Time) as the date and time for the WWDC keynote, which will be streamed on the official website and on YouTube. The public unveiling of the new Siri, iOS 27, and the rest of the operating systems, including iPadOS 27 and macOS 27, is expected at this event.
Following the conference, the company plans to release the first developer betas of iOS 27, with a public beta program expected to begin in July. Updates will refine the assistant throughout the European summer, culminating in the public release, slated for mid-September, coinciding with the launch of the new iPhone generation.
Meanwhile, Apple is internally reorganizing its artificial intelligence division , trying to close the gap with rivals who have been setting the pace for months. The new Siri is, to a large extent, the public face of that effort, and also one of the elements by which the company will be judged on whether it has been able to catch up.
New features around Siri: typing, shortcuts, and more integration
The Siri refresh isn't the only update. iOS 27 will incorporate new AI-powered typing tools integrated throughout the system , working in conjunction with the assistant. Among them is a feature that, according to leaks, could be called something like "Type with Siri."
This tool will appear at the top of the keyboard and will allow you to review and rewrite texts with style suggestions, grammar correction, and tone adjustments. The system will display the original text alongside the suggested changes, with the option to accept each modification separately, apply them all at once, or discard them and keep the original content.
Furthermore, when the user activates Siri in a text field, a new help button will appear to invoke these writing functions . The goal is to provide an assistant that can correct, summarize, or rewrite text, both in the app itself and in third-party applications, without the need to copy and paste into external services.
In the area of automation, Apple also intends to bring natural language to the creation of shortcuts . Instead of building complex step-by-step workflows, users will be able to describe what they want to accomplish in a single sentence—for example, “when I get home, turn down the volume, turn on Wi-Fi, and open the Podcasts app”—and let the system generate the corresponding shortcut.
These improvements are complemented by new AI-generated wallpapers , integrated with Image Playground and Apple Intelligence, and additional photo editing tools within the Photos app. While these latest features aren't exclusive to Siri, they reinforce the idea that artificial intelligence will begin to permeate many areas of the operating system, with the assistant as the gateway; in fact, Apple is preparing a major revolution in AI-powered photo editing.
With this comprehensive package of changes, iOS 27 is shaping up to be one of the most AI-driven updates in iPhone history. The new AI-powered Siri, its own dedicated app, the focus on privacy, and the extensions system will be key topics of discussion at WWDC 2026, especially in Europe, where the balance between innovation and data protection will be closely scrutinized by users and regulators alike.
