Apple rebrands Siri as ‘Siri AI’ in sweeping overhaul at WWDC

Apple Unveils Biggest Siri Overhaul at WWDC 2026

Apple on Monday unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its voice assistant at the Worldwide Developers Conference, rebranding it as “Siri AI” and positioning the update as the centerpiece of what is also Tim Cook’s final WWDC keynote as chief executive.

A “Profoundly More Capable Assistant”

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, introduced what he called “a completely new Siri,” acknowledging that “there are times when you expect more from Siri.” The revamped assistant supports multi-turn conversations, draws on real-time world knowledge, and can interact with personal data across apps while maintaining on-device or Private Cloud Compute processing for privacy.variety

Siri AI is now embedded in the Dynamic Island, accessible by swiping down, pressing the side button, or speaking. A dedicated Siri app allows users to scroll through prior conversations, with history syncing across devices via iCloud. On the Mac, Siri integrates into Spotlight and right-click context menus; on visionOS, it gains a 3D visualization users can position in space.macrumors

The iPhone camera gains a “Siri AI mode” that can take actions based on what it sees — pointing it at a dish of food, for example, returns a nutritional analysis. Users can also customize the assistant’s speed, tone, and accent, with a voice engine Apple says sounds far more natural than its predecessor.variety

Cross-Platform AI and External Models

The update deepens Apple’s collaboration with Google to leverage its Gemini models, part of a broader multi-model strategy that analysts say will also eventually include Anthropic’s Claude. Goldman Sachs noted in a preview report that Apple plans a multi-model provider selection mechanism, allowing users to switch between AI models for tasks like writing, image generation, and Siri queries.tradingkey

The new capabilities are expected to ship alongside iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 series in September.t3

Cook’s Final Keynote and Market Context

The conference marks Cook’s last major event before handing the CEO role to John Ternus, Apple’s hardware engineering chief, on September 1. According to CNBC, Apple stock entered the week near all-time highs, though analysts flagged the possibility of a “sell the news” reaction after years of delayed AI promises. Investopedia reported options traders pricing a swing of up to 3% by week’s end.cnbc