What the Siri Redesign Is and Why It Matters
The Siri redesign is Apple’s planned overhaul of its virtual assistant into a more conversational, chatbot-style system with richer context, search abilities and cross-device Apple Intelligence features for iPhone, iPad and Mac users. Expected to be unveiled during the WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, the new Siri is widely reported to move closer to ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in how it understands and responds to complex prompts. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Siri will gain chat history, a dedicated interface and deeper Apple Intelligence integration, signaling a shift away from the limited voice commands users know today. The revamp is also rumored to give Siri a larger role in the iOS 27 experience, turning it into a central way to search, ask questions and interact with apps. For Apple, this is less a tweak and more a reset of its AI assistant strategy.
A ChatGPT-Style Siri: Interface, Chat History and Dynamic Island
The new Siri interface is expected to look and feel much closer to a modern chatbot than the floating orb of the past. Reports suggest Apple will add a full chat-style screen with running conversation history, making it easier to revisit past questions, refine prompts and continue tasks over time. Siri is also rumored to gain a prominent place in the Dynamic Island on newer iPhones; a swipe could bring up a “Search or Ask” prompt that may even replace Spotlight as the main search entry point on iOS 27. According to PCQuest’s summary of Bloomberg reporting, Apple is rebuilding Siri around a large language model to deliver “more context-aware and conversational responses,” aligning the experience with what users expect from ChatGPT-like tools while keeping the assistant more tightly integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
Apple Intelligence Features Across iOS, iPadOS and macOS
Siri’s upgrade is part of a larger wave of Apple Intelligence features planned across the company’s platforms. At WWDC 2026, Apple is expected to show new AI-powered search tools, Dynamic Island improvements and expanded accessibility features in iOS 27, alongside similar updates in iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, watchOS 27 and visionOS 27. A dedicated Siri app for iOS, iPadOS and macOS is also anticipated, turning the assistant into a first-class application rather than a background feature alone. These changes point to a future where Siri is less about quick voice shortcuts and more about persistent, context-aware assistance, from summarizing information to coordinating multi-step tasks. For users, this means a more coherent AI experience across devices, with the same conversational model powering everything from quick phone queries to desktop research sessions.
Under the Hood: Apple’s LLM Strategy and New Search Engine
Behind the scenes, Apple is making a major shift in how it powers Siri. PCQuest reports that Apple is paying Google around USD 1 billion (approx. RM4.6 billion) per year to use its custom 1.2-trillion-parameter Gemini large language model for the revamped assistant, while also rebuilding Siri around its own more capable model for context-aware dialogue. On top of that, Bloomberg reporting cited by CNET says Apple will launch an in-house web search product inside Siri that competes with Perplexity AI. This means Siri will be able to answer broad questions with summaries, bullet lists and large, rich images instead of handing users off to Google or ChatGPT. The combination of third-party and in-house models suggests Apple wants both competitive performance and tighter control over how AI responses appear inside its ecosystem.
Can the New Siri Compete With ChatGPT and Other AI Assistants?
The central question for many iPhone owners is how the new Siri will compare to ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants they already use. With support for multiple requests at once, deeper conversational abilities and its own search engine, Siri is being designed to answer “practically any question” from within Apple’s interface rather than redirecting to external services. Apple also seems ready to position Siri as a rival to Perplexity by offering rich, web-informed answers and summaries. At the same time, the assistant’s tight integration with Apple Intelligence features and system apps could give it an advantage for device-specific tasks that web-based tools cannot access. WWDC 2026 will reveal how polished these features are in practice, and whether Apple’s late but ambitious move can narrow the gap with the AI leaders that have defined the current assistant landscape.
