This week, Apple officially announced WWDC25, scheduled for June 9th. This means we’re soon to witness all of Apple’s yearly software updates, including iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, visionOS 3, tvOS 19, watchOS 12, and much more.
This year’s iOS 19 is expected to feature a significant redesign, giving the operating system a refreshed look. Here, we will concentrate on the new AI capabilities that are forthcoming for the iPhone.
Three Delayed Siri Features from iOS 18.4
To start, iOS 19 is poised to launch three key Siri enhancements that Apple unveiled at WWDC24. These features were initially intended for release in the iOS 18.4 update this spring, but Apple decided more time was necessary for development.
The features include: personal context, on-screen awareness, and executing actions in apps.
If launched, these features would enable Siri to better recognize your identity, perceive your current activity on the phone while conversing, and take appropriate actions on your behalf. This would transform Siri into the comprehensive digital assistant many users have long imagined.
Apple hasn’t specified a precise timeline for these delayed Siri features. The company suggested they would be released “in the coming year,” leaving open the possibility of either iOS 19 or iOS 19.1 this fall or a winter/spring deployment. Only time will clarify their arrival.
LLM Siri
According to a report by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg last year, Apple is developing a new backend for Siri, referred to as ‘LLM Siri,’ tailored for iOS 19. This was expected to be paired with a revamped conversational interface for Siri, although that aspect has reportedly been postponed until iOS 20.
Nevertheless, the new LLM Siri backend is set to debut with iOS 19 and will be crucial for enabling the aforementioned iOS 18.4 features to function effectively. As noted in Gurman’s Power On newsletter:
To ensure the rollout of Apple Intelligence as part of iOS 18, the company couldn’t integrate the two systems seamlessly. This has resulted in less smooth functionality.
For iOS 19, Apple’s objective is to merge both backends and implement a new Siri architecture. I anticipate this will be revealed at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June of this year, with a launch expected by spring 2026 in iOS 19.4. The new system, internally named “LLM Siri,” was also supposed to foster a more conversational interaction, but that is now delayed as well and won’t be presented in June.
The introduction of the LLM Siri backend will pave the way for a cohesive Siri system, likely simplifying future enhancements. For context, Siri currently relies on two different backends: a legacy one for basic tasks and a more advanced one for intricate requests.
While the launch of LLM Siri won’t provide immediate advantages for users in terms of brand-new features, the conversational elements are expected to roll out with iOS 20.
Expansion across Applications
Apple is also reportedly planning to broaden the availability of its existing Apple Intelligence features across more applications. This may indicate that capabilities such as Image Playground, Genmoji, and summarization features will extend to more services, as noted by Bloomberg:
The downside is that Apple is unlikely to reveal revolutionary new AI features at the upcoming WWDC. Instead, the focus will likely be on expanding current functionalities to additional applications.
This implies that Apple may not roll out any radically new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 19, aside from what has already been announced.
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