Significant Siri upgrades expected soon

 Three major Siri upgrades are coming very soon        

Earlier Apple rolled out the release candidate builds for iOS 18.3, meaning that we’re just days away from seeing that update ship to the public. This also suggests that the iOS 18.4 beta is on the horizon, which is expected to bring significant improvements to Siri through Apple Intelligence. Following is what we anticipate with Siri in iOS 18.4:-

Previous Siri improvements in iOS 18

While numerous enhancements have been made to Siri in iOS 18, the highly anticipated “intelligent” functionalities have yet to be introduced. Here’s whats new so far:-

An entirely revamped design featuring smoother animations and a more streamlined interface.

Faster responses and better language processing, allowing you to make mistakes in your speech and still be understood

Enhanced Apple product knowledge to assist users with basic tech support.

Ability to type to Siri, allowing you to ask questions without speaking out loud

Integration with ChatGPT for addressing more complex real-world inquiries.

Option to type queries to Siri, enabling silent interactions.

These enhancements are commendable, but they are only the beginning, and more advancements for Siri are anticipated from Apple.

What’s Upcoming in iOS 18.4

Assuming no last-minute setbacks occur, iOS 18.4 is set to unveil some of Apple’s significant commitments to Apple Intelligence and Siri. These enhancements will ideally elevate Siri’s capabilities, assuming Apple adheres to its promises. Three key upgrades for Siri are expected in iOS 18.4: personal context, on-screen awareness and the capacity to execute actions within apps. Here’s how Apple describes each of these features:-

Personal context

Awareness of your personal context enables Siri to help you in ways that are unique to you. Can’t remember if a friend shared that recipe with you in a note, a text, or an email? Need your passport number while booking a flight? Siri can use its knowledge of the information on your device to help find what you’re looking for, without compromising your privacy.

On-screen awareness

Apple Intelligence empowers Siri with onscreen awareness, so it can understand and take action with things on your screen. If a friend texts you their new address, you can say “Add this address to their contact card,” and Siri will take care of it.

Taking action in apps

Seamlessly take action in and across apps with Siri. You can make a request like “Send the email I drafted to April and Lilly” and Siri knows which email you’re referencing and which app it’s in. And Siri can take actions across apps, so after you ask Siri to enhance a photo for you by saying “Make this photo pop,” you can ask Siri to drop it in a specific note in the Notes app, without lifting a finger.

With these three features, Siri is set to finally embody the concept of a personal assistant. Third-party applications will also gain the ability to support these functions, and many apps have been gradually introducing Siri integration since the launch of iOS 18 in September.

Expected future

While not officially announced, iOS 19 is rumoured to include another large upgrade to Siri, allowing users to be more conversational with the assistant, similar to a chatbot like ChatGPT. Bloomberg reports that this feature won’t release until spring 2026, meaning it’s still a year away. The report indicates that ‘LLM Siri’ will facilitate “back-and-forth conversations” and handle more complex requests with greater efficiency.

Conclusion

Apple announcing software features so far in advance of their public release, we can’t argue that it hasn’t been worth the wait. If Apple’s Siri revamp lives up to its promises, it will be rather remarkable. The iOS 18.4 beta is likely to be released in the coming weeks, with a public roll-out anticipated in spring, around April.