In a new report about Apple losing at least four more AI researchers in recent weeks, in addition to a high-ranking Siri executive, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reiterated that the company is preparing to release two new versions of Siri.
First, Apple announced that it plans to release a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini this year. It is expected to be part of iOS 26.4, which should enter beta testing in February and be released to the general public in March or April.
Back in June 2024, Apple said the revamped Siri will have understanding of personal context, on-screen awareness, deeper in-app controls, and more.
Second, Siri will reportedly get even better on iOS 27, as Apple is said to be planning to turn the assistant into a full-out chatbot, allowing users to have sustained, back-and-forth conversations with the assistant. This will essentially turn Siri into ChatGPT or Gemini, except it will be built right into the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no app required.
Gurman said the Siri chatbot will be “competitive with Gemini 3,” and “significantly more capable” than the more personalized Siri coming with iOS 26.4.
The high-ranking Siri executive who left Apple was Stuart Bowers, according to the report, which described him as “one of the company’s most senior executives working on Siri.” He joined Google’s artificial intelligence research laboratory DeepMind.
The four researchers who left are Yinfei Yang, Haoxuan You, Bailin Wang, and Zirui Wang.
This article, “Apple Still Preparing Two New Versions of Siri as Some Employees Leave” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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