Apple’s intelligent assistant has taken a significant leap forward with the integration of Apple Intelligence. Siri now responds in a more natural and context-aware way, making everyday tasks faster and easier. From voice to typed commands, the assistant adapts to different situations without losing track of context. Over the past week, I explored how the new Siri could control nearly every aspect of my iPhone.
A Smarter, More Natural Siri Experience
Apple Intelligence has made Siri much more conversational and more intuitive. Users are able to talk naturally even when they stop talking or make up their mind during the sentence. As an example, telling the clock, “10 minutes, oh wait, make that a timer, better yet 15, that is so precise it sets a 15 minute clock. The assistant can make out intent without unusual strict structure, which signifies that Apple tries to make the assistant practical to implement in real life.
The updated Siri also looks different. When activated, a glowing light appears around the edge of the screen, alerting that the assistant is listening. This is a visual indicator that enables the user to continue scrolling or typing even when commanding Siri. It is an architectural decision that helps with multitasking and maintains the interface unobtrusive.
Voice and Typing Options for Every Situation
Not every environment is suited to speaking commands aloud. With Type to Siri, users can double-tap the bottom of the screen to type their requests instead. This is particularly useful in settings like meetings, classrooms, or libraries where discretion is important. The feature supports the same natural-language processing as spoken commands.
With a few easy steps it is possible to switch Turning Type on or off. The user may then navigate to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and then tap Talk & Type to Siri to set the Type to Siri setting. This customizability makes Siri customizable to various user settings and preferences.
Context That Stays With the Conversation
The most prominent improvement is that Siri can keep requests in context. A user may search, how well are the San Francisco Giants going in this season and then proceed to search when they are playing next. Siri connects these requests and the complete question does not have to be repeated. It is even possible that the dialogue will advance to, “Put that in my calendar” with Siri able to realize which game is discussed.
Such a feature helps simplify multi-step actions and makes users less likely to misrepresent information. It also resembles how users address each other, which is a major advancement compared with previous versions of Siri. It is particularly useful if the conversational context needs to be maintained in managing schedules, retrieving information, or traversing apps.
Getting Expert Answers About Apple Products
Siri can now answer detailed questions about Apple devices without requiring a separate search. In supported languages, users can ask, “Where do I name a group text on iPhone?” or “How do I connect my AirPods to iPhone?” The assistant delivers direct, step-by-step guidance.
This product knowledge extends beyond the iPhone. Users can ask about iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod. Questions like “How do I change what shows up in Control Center?” or “How do I play sound from my TV through HomePod?” are answered without leaving the conversation. This creates a more integrated support experience within the Apple ecosystem.
Integrating ChatGPT for Broader Requests
Siri has been enabled to access ChatGPT via an extension with the user’s authorization to give imaginative or topical responses. For example, one could be: “Hey Siri, have ChatGPT write a haiku about dragons or What do I buy my uncle on his 70th birthday? He is crazy about fishing.” The service fits in Apple’s protection framework, and it even requests the user’s approval prior to sharing photos or files.
Users can also request summaries of documents, such as a PDF lease agreement, which is open in the Files app. This connection makes Siri more versatile, combining Apple’s assistant with ChatGPT’s generative capabilities. The ChatGPT extension is not available in all regions or languages, and users must meet age requirements to enable it.
Privacy, Permissions, and Control Settings
Apple has built multiple safeguards around the ChatGPT feature. If Siri determines that ChatGPT could help but the user has not explicitly asked for it, Siri will first request confirmation. Users can disable this confirmation step in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT by turning off Confirm ChatGPT Requests.
And in case someone does not want to use ChatGPT at all, Apple offers to block the model completely using the settings of the system. This ensures that user control of the third-party AI is complete. This is part of Apple policies on their overall privacy stance, providing the user with the ability to make decisions on the type of data shared as well as on the timing.
Availability and Device Requirements
Apple Intelligence does not support all devices and areas yet. Certain limitations, such as languages and geography, exist in some of its features, like the ChatGPT. Users should be equipped with the latest version of iOS and Apple Intelligence activated to get access to the latest tools. It also comes to availability, which implies that some old iPhone models will not be offered the update.
Apple provides a page listing support by region and by device device to check support by region specifically. This prevents the confusion of making customers anticipate the new Siri features already without informing them of the features they will have access to.
