We're halfway through the iPhone 16 and iOS 18's launch year and yet we're still waiting for the final piece of the puzzle that completes Apple Intelligence's first wave of features - major changes to Siri in iOS 18.4.
According to reports, iOS 18.4, which includes major software upgrades for the best iPhones, is coming in April and a beta of everything it has to offer could arrive within the next few weeks. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, iOS 18.4 beta could arrive as soon as this week, so there's no better time to start talking about the major changes coming to iOS.
The last piece of the puzzle
When Apple Intelligence was unveiled back in June last year it was seen as a pivotal moment for the future of Apple products with incredibly promising AI tools that would transform the way you interact with your devices.
Fast forward eight months and I think it's fair to say that Apple Intelligence's rollout has been tepid at best. AI tools have launched as part of iOS 18.1, 18.2, and 18.3 bringing new Apple Intelligence features every time from Mail app categorization to Genmoji (generative AI emojis). Every update to iOS 18 brings something new, and for a few weeks, it feels like the turning point of Apple Intelligence's relevancy before it dissipates and becomes just another iPhone feature again.
After nearly a year, criticizing the rollout is fair, but it's hard to criticize Apple Intelligence when the most important aspect of it all still hasn't arrived on the scene. Luckily, that's all about to change in the coming months when iOS 18.4 ushers in a new era for Apple Intelligence, and Apple's voice assistant, Siri.
You see, Apple Intelligence is all about Siri, it's the beating heart of Apple AI and unfortunately, up until now, it's a clunky mess that missing its core. Yes, there's a nice new design that pulsates from the edges of compatible iPhones, and yes, it has access to ChatGPT for more difficult prompts, but it's still just Siri, and we all know too well that "just Siri" is exactly what we don't want.
However, after 14 years of Siri, it's finally expected to get good with new functionality that makes it the AI personal assistant that can genuinely improve your life, and that's why iOS 18.4 could be the biggest software upgrade for iPhone we've ever seen.
What to expect from Siri in iOS 18.4
Siri's iOS 18.4 makeover can be broken down into three key areas that combine to make the voice assistant the beating heart of every Apple Intelligence-powered device on the market. Here are the three main changes coming to Siri in iOS 18.4:
1. Personal context
Siri in iOS 18.4 will be able to track information from throughout iOS including all your emails, messages, and photos, as well as the way you interact with files on your device. From there, Siri will be able to take context into account when responding to your queries, offering suggestions and helping you keep on top of life. For example, you'll be able to ask Siri to remind you of the name of a restaurant a friend told you about in Messages, and the voice assistant will then be able to search through your conversations and provide an accurate answer.
2. On-screen awareness
Have you ever wanted to ask Siri a question based off of what you're doing at that very moment in time on your device? Well, in iOS 18.4 Siri will be able to know what you're looking at on your iPhone's display and respond to questions based off of your screen. Imagine being able to ask Siri to add an event to your calendar from an image, or ask further details about a photo you're looking at. Pretty cool!
3. App Integration
Last but definitely not least is app integration which allows Siri to better integrate with first and third-party apps and learn more about you from the software you use the most throughout the day.
This has been something users have been clamoring for since Siri initially launched in 2011 and to have better communication between the voice assistant and the apps on your device is going to unlock a new realm of possibilities.
We might need to wait a few weeks following the launch of iOS 18.4 to see the true power of Siri's app integration as it will require app developers to update their apps. But in time, Siri will slowly get even better and have a full understanding of your life and how it can improve it.
The future is bright (I hope)
Covering Apple Intelligence launches since September has proven pretty tricky. On one hand, Apple is implementing new features into its devices that are useful when you need them and forgettable when you don't. On the other hand, I can't help but feel that Apple Intelligence has been lagging behind the competition.
iOS 18.4 is the final piece of the puzzle in the first wave of Apple Intelligence, and accessing Siri 2.0 will give us an indication whether Apple's AI is going to be a major success, or if it's going to be just another software feature in an ever-growing list of functionality. Apple wants people to buy new devices for Apple Intelligence, and we're soon going to find out if you should.
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