- Apple is expected to unveil a modern Siri powered by Google’s Gemini technology at its developer conference next week — complete with memory of prior queries, device-aware personalization, and a standalone paid app tier similar to ChatGPT.
- Apple’s key AI advantage is its existing access to intimate user data (calendars, contacts, payment methods, location) across 2 billion devices — giving it a structural moat if Siri can become a capable AI agent.
- Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan argues Apple could become the “marketplace for app actions” in an AI-agent world — charging developers for the right to be the service Siri calls on users’ behalf, similar to how it monetizes App Store distribution today.
- Apple has promised a smarter Siri before and settled a class-action lawsuit for failing to deliver; it fired its head of AI last year; it’s now relying on Google’s technology after failing to build a competitive model internally.
What Happened?
Apple is preparing its biggest AI announcement in years. At its annual developer conference next week, the company is expected to debut a fundamentally redesigned Siri — built on Google’s Gemini technology — that will look and behave more like ChatGPT. The new Siri is expected to remember prior queries, access device data for personalized responses, and launch as a standalone app with a paid subscription tier. The move is a tacit admission of failure: Apple has tried for years to modernize Siri internally, settled a class-action lawsuit for promising features it never delivered, and last year announced the departure of its head of AI. Unable to build a competitive model internally, Apple turned to Google — the same company that already pays Apple tens of billions annually to be the default Safari search engine.
Why It Matters?
Apple’s AI moment matters not because it’s building the best model, but because of what a capable Siri could enable. iPhones already hold the most personal data of any device on the planet — calendars, payment methods, home addresses, dietary restrictions, health metrics. If Siri can reliably act on that data as an agent — booking restaurants, hailing rides, managing schedules — Apple becomes the gatekeeper to every AI interaction for its 2 billion device users. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan calls this the “marketplace for app actions”: in a world where smartphone agents call services on users’ behalf, companies like Uber may have to pay Apple a fee to be the service Siri selects — just as app developers currently pay to reach consumers through the App Store. Former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson put it bluntly: “I think Apple is going to win on AI.”
What’s Next?
The developer conference reveal will be Apple’s last credible chance to establish itself in AI before the window closes. OpenAI is building its own hardware device with Jony Ive and has launched an App Store initiative, though the latter has underperformed. Apple also faces a memory supply constraint: on-device AI models require more RAM, but AI chipmakers are consuming memory supplies at record rates, driving up prices. Its privacy-first philosophy — a genuine competitive advantage in building user trust — paradoxically limits the company’s ability to train models on user data. Apple has no more excuses. If the new Siri delivers, it could redefine what a smartphone does. If it doesn’t, a pattern of overpromising will have its longest shadow yet.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
