Recently, Apple entered into a multi-year contract with Google to let Gemini power Siri's AI capabilities. However, the brand has not revealed exactly when this renewed Siri avatar will actually ship. Early speculations hint at the first trace of AI-powered Siri in iOS 27 and it might allow users to integrate third-party AI services directly within Siri.
Apple's Siri Could Offer Marketplace "Extensions"
In his latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman has revealed that Apple is planning a dedicated Siri app for iPhone, iPad and Mac users. It will work similar to ChatGPT, with both voice and text-based inputs for conversation, a dedicated chat history tab and more. However, the key addition will be in the form of chat extensions.
Gurman says the new Siri app will act as a marketplace where users can choose from other AI chatbots and use them within Siri, unlocking more features and capabilities. This aligns with a previous Bloomberg report that said Apple will open Siri to Claude and Gemini in iOS 27.
If true, this will be reminiscent of the 2024 version of Siri where it used ChatGPT as an extension for handling queries and complext AI-related tasks. However, we are not sure how this will happen since Google is going to exclusively power Siri. It could function as a standalone App Store, but for AI where Apple earns a share from each and every AI service that wants to integrate itself with Siri.
Also, another key area of concern is availability. While Gurman's report states that Apple is internally testing a pre-release version of this new Siri app, it is not likely to reach every iPhone user. First and foremost is Apple Intelligence itself, which was debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro. So, it is clear that every new iPhone beyond that will support the new Siri. However, that might not be the case for the iPhone 15 and older models.
Lastly, with the renewed Siri scheduled to arrive with iOS 27, while iPhones below iPhone 15 will also gain support for Apple's next software update, they will likely miss out on Siri's capabilities due to a lack of sufficient RAM and Apple Intelligence integration. Hence, with an expected release window of the first iOS 27 beta in June 2026, we will have to wait and see how well Siri and its AI-based avatar play out amidst the competition.
