Most individuals see Siri as Apple’s AI weak point.
I’m one in every of them.
I’ve written earlier than about how I normally use ChatGPT or Claude as a substitute of Siri, which I discover is sweet for timers, however not a lot for considering.
However now I’m beginning to marvel if Siri might turn into one in every of Apple’s greatest benefits. And it ties into my thesis that that is the yr AI goes from answering inquiries to doing issues for you.
As a result of the newest reporting means that Apple is perhaps about to drag off one thing a lot larger than a easy improve of its voice assistant.
It could possibly be turning its working system right into a dealer of intelligence, with Siri performing because the concierge.
That single transfer might immediately flip Apple right into a contender within the AI race.
However not in the way in which you would possibly anticipate.
Siri Reborn
In accordance with Bloomberg, Apple is making ready a serious Siri redesign for iOS 27 that might open the assistant to rival AI providers comparable to ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. It’s additionally testing a model of Siri that may deal with a number of instructions in a single request.
At first blush, this would possibly sound like Apple is just making an attempt to make Siri much less embarrassing.
However I feel there’s a much bigger story right here.
You see, I consider Apple may additionally be making an attempt to show Siri into the entrance door for synthetic intelligence on the iPhone.
Right here’s what I imply.
Utilizing AI right now can contain juggling a number of apps. You would possibly open one mannequin to analysis one thing, one other for writing and perhaps a 3rd mannequin that will help you code.
In different phrases, it’s important to resolve which instrument to make use of and the way you’re going to handle the workflow.
However a concierge works the opposite manner round.
You inform your iPhone what you need completed, and Siri will resolve what intelligence sits behind the reply. Perhaps one mannequin will deal with reasoning whereas one other searches for data and yet one more executes a process.
However to you, all of it seems like one expertise.
That’s the place I feel Siri could possibly be headed.
And this method is sensible as a result of Apple actually doesn’t appear to be making an attempt to outbuild its friends.
The mannequin behind Apple Intelligence reportedly has about 3 billion parameters. That may sound large, but it surely’s a lot smaller than the huge fashions being constructed by OpenAI, Google and Anthropic.
As a substitute of going larger, Apple has centered on weaving AI into its personal ecosystem.
Many Apple Intelligence options run proper in your system. Extra demanding duties can run by way of Apple’s Personal Cloud Compute. And Apple has already proven that it’s open to partnerships by bringing ChatGPT into Siri reasonably than forcing its personal mannequin to do all the pieces.
That tells me Apple isn’t making an attempt to beat its opponents by constructing the largest AI mind.
But Apple has the distinct benefit of greater than 2 billion energetic gadgets in use and a providers enterprise that generates over $100 billion a yr, with margins far larger than its {hardware} enterprise.
These numbers level to the huge alternative right here.
As a result of if Apple can management the place AI requests start, it will likely be in a position to revenue from intelligence the identical manner it already income from its App Retailer.
By proudly owning the highway everybody drives on.
When Apple launched the App Retailer, most individuals noticed it as a technique to put software program on the iPhone. However the true breakthrough was how Apple took a lower of all the pieces.
Apple constructed a toll highway on high of cell computing, and that toll highway grew to become one of the worthwhile companies in trendy tech. In truth, Apple’s app ecosystem helped generate about $1.3 trillion in gross sales in 2024.
Picture: appleinsider.com
And AI could possibly be the same alternative for Apple.
If Siri turns into the one deciding which AI handles your request, the AI firms should compete for entry to Apple’s ecosystem. That might put Apple in place to revenue irrespective of which one comes out on high.
And there are already hints that that is taking place.
Studies say generative AI apps produced roughly $900 million in App Retailer charges final yr.
Which means Apple is already making a living from AI site visitors earlier than this new alternative unfolds.
And what comes subsequent might make that $900 million appear like chump change.
Right here’s My Take
Apple has a historical past of discovering the place essentially the most worth in a brand new expertise can be created and placing itself in the course of it.
It did that with the Mac by making private computing simpler to make use of.
It did it once more with the iPhone by redefining the smartphone.
And the App Retailer let Apple revenue from your complete ecosystem constructed on high of each.
Now, Apple has its sights set on synthetic intelligence.
By turning Siri into an AI concierge — the place you state a objective and the system figures out the way to get it completed — Apple might change what an working system does. As a substitute of a spot the place you open apps, it might turn into a spot the place you merely ask for what you need completed.
This transfer would permit Apple to place itself in the course of the following large wave in computing.
And historical past has confirmed that’s a really worthwhile place to be
That’s why I feel this story is greater than a wiser Siri. I see it as a wager that the following platform received’t be outlined by apps.
It’ll be outlined by whoever helps you get issues completed essentially the most effectively.
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
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