Apple officially unveiled its next-generation iPhone operating system, iOS 27, on Monday, spotlighting a redesigned Siri AI assistant as the headline feature. The update arrives just ahead of this week's launch of the new iPhone lineup, signaling that the company's repeatedly delayed AI upgrades for Siri are finally reaching users.

The new Siri AI is currently in beta, requiring users to manually enable it through the Settings app, Apple said. Due to limited initial service capacity, some users may need to join a waiting list before gaining access. Apple is positioning its upcoming iPhone 18 series as a key gateway for running artificial intelligence functions. The new handsets feature more powerful chips, while the devices store rich personal data—such as calendars and messages—enabling Apple to craft a "personalized AI" experience distinct from rival AI companies.

CEO Tenus, speaking at last week's iPhone launch event, described it as "truly personal intelligence for individuals." This marked Tenus's first iPhone keynote since taking over as CEO from Cook on September 1. He emphasized that the iPhone sits at the center of Apple's intelligent ecosystem, allowing a range of smart features and experiences to work seamlessly across different devices in users' daily lives.

After lengthy delays, the Siri AI rollout finally begins. Apple first previewed the redesigned Siri AI assistant in June this year. The company had initially announced an AI-driven next-generation Siri back in 2024, but those features were postponed until this year's redesigned version. Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic, and Alphabet's Google, which pursue ever larger frontier AI models, Apple is taking a different technical path. The company is developing smaller AI models that run directly on iPhone and Mac chips, aiming to complete as much AI computation locally on devices as possible.

However, for more complex Siri AI requests, Apple still relies on cloud computing power. To support this, the company has built a private cloud computing system called "Private Cloud Compute," which utilizes Google Cloud infrastructure and Nvidia and Intel chips. Meanwhile, Apple is also leveraging Google's Gemini technology to help develop its own AI models. This signifies that while emphasizing proprietary AI technology and privacy protection, Apple continues to rely on external partners like Google to accelerate its AI capabilities.

Some AI features will come with daily usage caps, and future paid tiers may be introduced. Notably, as more AI computation shifts to the cloud, Apple is beginning to address the costs of AI services. The company stated that certain Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features requiring cloud servers will have daily usage limits. Users seeking higher usage quotas in the future may need to pay extra. Apple noted in its announcement that daily limits may vary depending on the specific feature, request complexity, system requirements, system policies, and other factors. The company also indicated that higher usage quotas "will be offered as a paid option in the future."

This arrangement suggests Apple's AI services may no longer rely solely on hardware sales for monetization. As cloud-based AI computing demand grows, Apple is poised to gradually explore paid models for high-frequency or high-compute AI users, establishing a new service revenue stream for Apple Intelligence.

Siri becomes more conversational, capable of searching text messages, emails, and calendar entries. One of the most significant changes in the new Siri is its use of large language models to understand and search personal data stored locally on user devices, including text messages, emails, and calendar appointments. For example, users can ask Siri to locate an address, recipe, or instructions from past messages without manually scrolling through them. Beyond handling personal data, the new Siri can also answer general questions and search the internet. Apple has introduced a standalone Siri app that saves users' previous questions.

Compared with the older Siri, the new version allows users to ask follow-up questions based on the assistant's responses, making the interaction much closer to the multi-turn conversations seen in mainstream AI chat assistants. This is a core part of Apple's strategy to create a differentiated AI experience. Rather than merely offering general knowledge Q&A, the company aims to leverage the personal data on iPhones and the Apple device ecosystem to help Siri understand information relevant to users' personal lives, enhancing the assistant's practicality.

The initial rollout supports English only, with French, Japanese, and other languages following next month. The new Siri AI first supports English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish support arriving next month, according to Apple. For the company, user acceptance of the new Siri will be a critical test of its AI strategy. Over the past few years, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic have rapidly popularized generative AI products, while Apple's pace of AI product deployment has been relatively slow, with the previously announced Siri AI upgrades experiencing delays.

Now, with the release of iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 series, Apple is embedding AI more deeply into its hardware and operating system ecosystem. Instead of directly competing with rivals on the largest AI models, Apple is betting on a combination of on-device compute, personal data, and cross-device ecosystem integration. Whether the new Siri truly becomes users' primary daily AI entry point will be a key measure of how effectively Apple can close the gap with other AI giants.