Apple’s September 9 “Surprise and ShineAt the launch event, Siri AI and Apple Intelligence were highlighted as the core selling points of the iPhone 18 Pro. The new Siri AI is no longer just a voice command tool, but an intelligent assistant with personal context understanding, broad world knowledge, and screen awareness. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said at the event that the iPhone is the best vehicle for an “intelligent personal hub,” and Siri AI serves as the intelligent brain of that hub.
According to data released by Apple, Siri currently handles over 2.5 billion user requests every day, making it one of the most widely used voice assistants in the world. The goal of Siri AI is to upgrade these requests from “command execution” to “conversational collaboration.”
Three core capabilities: personal context, world knowledge, screen awareness
Siri AI is built on three core capabilities. The first is Personal Context Understanding, which allows Siri to search across apps for users’ personal data such as emails, messages, and photos. In the demo at the keynote, a user asked Siri, “What dessert did Mom mention wanting to make together during her visit?” and Siri automatically found, from emails and messages, the recipe Mom had sent and the conversation about wanting to make Grandma’s pie together.
Second is “Broad World Knowledge.” Siri can pull real-time information from the internet to answer almost any question, from astronomical phenomena to concert schedules. Third is “Onscreen Awareness.” Siri can understand what’s on the user’s screen and answer questions or take action based on it. For example, when you receive a message about a dinner gathering, you can ask Siri to suggest what dish to bring, then add it directly to your Notes.
Siri App: Dedicated Application and Cross-Device Synchronization
Apple has launched a dedicated Siri app that sits directly on the Home Screen. Users can review past conversations or start new ones there, with all conversations privately synced via iCloud across all Apple devices. On iPhone, users can swipe down from the Dynamic Island to open a Siri conversation; on iPad and Mac, Siri AI is integrated into Spotlight search, and you can also use the right-click menu to ask questions about images, files, or text.
Siri AI is also built into the Camera app, letting users ask questions about what they see through the lens or create multiple calendar events at once. In addition, Siri supports writing and editing in nearly every text input field, such as composing an email to your child’s soccer coach during your commute or quickly replying to work messages in a meeting.
Supports over 300,000 apps
Siri AI can now work with over 300,000 apps. At the keynote, they demonstrated sending messages in WhatsApp, playing audiobooks in Audible, composing emails in Outlook, searching for homework in Notability, and adding restaurant recommendations in Tripsy. Apple emphasized that the barrier for developers to adopt the new feature is low, as Spotlight integration alone lets Siri access app content.
Voice and Sound Performance
The voice quality of Siri AI has also seen major improvements. The iPhone 18 Pro runs Apple’s most advanced on-device models to date, powering the new Expressive Voices feature. Users can choose from a variety of voice options and customize speech rate and expressiveness. The keynote showcased different voice styles, with options ranging from calm to lively. System-level dictation has also been improved, delivering greater accuracy in punctuation, spelling, and capitalization, making it easier for users to input complete, properly formatted text when typing isn’t convenient—significantly reducing the hassle of manual corrections after voice input.
AI integration for Safari, Shortcuts, and the Phone app
Apple Intelligence also extends deep into Safari, Shortcuts, and the Phone app. Safari adds a “Notify Me” feature that monitors webpage content changes and proactively notifies users. Shortcuts now supports using natural language descriptions to automatically create personalized automation workflows, such as “When I receive an email from school, update my calendar and reminders.” The Phone app can automatically display relevant information when users call a business, such as surfacing flight confirmation codes or order numbers when needed.
Image Creation and Photo Editing
In terms of visual expression, the redesigned Image Playground supports generating high-quality images in nearly any style, from watercolor and sketch to animation styles, all switchable with a single tap. The AI editing tools in the Photos app have also been fully upgraded: the Cleanup tool delivers higher-quality filling in complex scenes, naturally removing bystanders or clutter; the Extend feature can expand the edges of an image to give the subject more breathing room, ideal for when social media crops have the wrong aspect ratio; and Spatial Reframing allows users to change the perspective and framing of a shot after taking it, adjusting the image proportions for a more polished composition. Combined with the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture main camera, these tools bring post-processing flexibility on a phone to a level approaching professional software.
Privacy architecture: on-device first, enhanced by Private Cloud Compute
Apple specifically emphasized privacy design during the launch event. Siri AI’s architecture prioritizes on-device computing, using Apple Foundation Models to process data locally. When more powerful computing is needed, Private Cloud Compute extends the same level of privacy protection, ensuring that “no one, including Apple, can access your data.” Federighi compared competitors’ approaches during his keynote: “Others treat this data as something to collect and store, moving it to servers and asking you to trust them. But trust has its limits when your data is no longer under your control.”
Language Support and Launch Timeline
Apple Intelligence will support 16 languages in this month’s operating system update. Siri AI is launching first as an English beta, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish joining in October (following convention, Chinese likely won’t be available until mid-next year). Some features will have usage limits due to their reliance on powerful server-side models, with upgraded quotas available through most iCloud+ plans. For users in Taiwan, Siri AI is currently available as an English beta, and the timeline for Chinese support has not yet been announced, but other Apple Intelligence features (such as Image Playground, photo editing tools, etc.) are usable in supported languages and regions. Overall, Siri AI represents a shift for voice assistants from “command tools” to “intelligent collaboration partners,” and whether it can change how users interact with their phones will depend on the stability of the beta phase and the speed of support for languages like Chinese.
Source: KOCPC Chinese