Apple unveils AI-powered Siri, aiming to counter rivals

Apple is attempting to regain its footing in the artificial intelligence race with the unveiling of a new Siri, powered by Google's Gemini AI. At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the tech giant announced that its virtual assistant will now function as an "AI agent," capable of autonomously executing tasks based on user commands.

During a demonstration, the new Siri accurately identified a photo's location and provided directions to a friend's address mentioned in a message. It can also schedule appointments by searching for performance dates and extract booking numbers from emails for flight changes. Enhanced visual intelligence allows Siri to provide nutritional information for food shown via the camera and calculate individual costs from a receipt.

Apple highlighted security as a key differentiator for its AI features. Despite integrating external generative AI services, the company stated that data is processed using a combination of on-device and private cloud systems, ensuring it is not leaked externally. "With on-device AI and private cloud, we have blocked Apple, and anyone else, from accessing or storing your user data," said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering. "AI privacy is a value that is never compromised."

However, some critics suggest the new features are not groundbreaking and merely fulfill previously announced expectations. Bloomberg noted that Apple is only delivering features initially slated for early 2025. The company's stock saw a slight decline following the announcement. This WWDC marked the final appearance of CEO Tim Cook as chairman before his planned transition to chairman of the board in September. The new features will be available to developers immediately, with a public beta release expected next month.

“

With on-device AI and private cloud, we have blocked Apple, and anyone else, from accessing or storing your user data. AI privacy is a value that is never compromised.