All-New Siri: How Will Apple Intelligence Change It?

Apple has promised a slew of artificial intelligence features on its iPhone 15 and 16, Mac and iPad models with the release of iOS 18.1, which is expected to become available on Oct. 28. While Apple Intelligence is supposed to touch all major features of these devices, how will it change Siri, and what will you be able to do with the new Siri? Here’s a look:

Siri will undergo a complete redesign, according to Apple. Its new design will feature a glowing light around the edges of the screen when it’s active on iPhone. 

Up until now, you could only use voice commands with Siri. That is about to change. A particularly useful addition for when you’re not in a position to speak out loud, you will be able type to Siri with a double tap on the bottom of an iPhone or iPad screen.

Siri will follow your voice even when you stumble over your words, Apple has claimed. So a bit of “umms” and “uhs” are fine, and even if you accidently said “set an alarm … wait, set a timer,” Siri will identify your correct request and set the latter, through its richer language understanding.

Siri will also maintain context from one request to the next, without you having to refer to the earlier subject. Let’s say you asked Siri about the location of a calendar event, and then follow it up with a question on the weather at that location, Siri will understand what you’re talking about and accordingly respond.

When you're learning how to do something new on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, you can ask questions and quickly receive step-by-step instructions from Siri.

Siri will now have onscreen awareness, enabling it to recognise and respond to objects on your screen. Let’s say your friend messages you her address, you can ask Siri to “Add this address to their contact card,” and it’ll be done.

Whether you need your passport number or can’t seem to recall the recipe your friend shared is on mail or message, you can ask Siri. It will help find that information from where it’s saved on your device.