When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
The Siri AI upgrade in iOS 18 and other updates will give you control over individual apps’ functionality, according to Bloomberg sources.
The operating system overhaul will reportedly let you open a specific file, delete emails, move notes, open certain Apple News channels, and email links, among other tasks.
Apple is said to have reworked Siri to use the large language models (LLMs) that drive generative AI systems like GPT-4o or Gemini. The company is expected to use an in-house LLM for its voice assistant.
The app feature control will initially be restricted to Apple’s own software, the insiders claimed. It will also handle just one instruction at a time. Apple is believed to be expanding the usefulness over time, including the ability to daisy chain multiple commands.
Siri is said to handle core tasks on-device when possible, speeding up responses. It would turn to the cloud for more advanced requests. You might need particularly high-end hardware for local commands, though. One-device AI could require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer model in iOS 18. With iPadOS 18 and macOS 15, you’ll reportedly need an M1 chip or later.
iOS 18 is poised to be one of the largest iPhone software updates in recent memory, with many of the changes revolving around AI. This would include improved searches, more natural Siri interactions, photo editing, suggested text, and notification summaries. Apple might rely on ChatGPT to handle AI queries it can’t handle itself.
Apple is expected to introduce iOS 18 and other OS revamps at WWDC on June 10th. Finished versions likely won’t be ready until the fall, but public and developer betas could be available shortly afterward.
The improvements to Siri and overall AI functionality represent a form of catch-up for Apple. Siri has been lagging in functionality compared to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for a while. App feature control has also existed for some time — Samsung’s Bixby offered a basic version of it years ago.
The arrival of ChatGPT supposedly represented the turning point for Apple. It’s said to have realized that generative AI left Siri looking old, and that the tech pioneer was worried the iPhone would be a simple brick compared to more intelligent rivals. With iOS 18, Apple could address some longstanding weaknesses and even give itself an edge over Android, where Gemini still has a limited presence.
