Siri AI is coming to the Apple Watch Apfelpatient

With watchOS 27, Apple is bringing Siri AI to the Apple Watch – along with a standalone Siri app. While the feature is still missing in the first beta, it could become the biggest change to the watch in a long time. However, there's a significant catch for users in Germany and the EU.

When Apple first presented its AI strategy in June 2024, the Apple Watch played practically no role in the narrative surrounding the completely overhauled Siri generation and Apple Intelligence. Two years later, that is changing: with watchOS 27, Siri AI officially moves to the wrist – that ground-up AI restart of the voice control that Apple is introducing with iOS 27. But this is exactly where the problem lies for the German-speaking region, because Apple is not rolling out Siri AI on all platforms in the EU for the time being. An overview of what the new feature can do and why the Apple Watch in particular is set to benefit from it.

What Apple is catching up on two years after its initial AI promise

With watchOS 27, the Apple Watch receives Siri AI – including the new, standalone Siri app, which Apple is introducing across platforms. This feature is not yet included in the very first beta; it will be added later in the testing phase.

With this, Apple closes a gap from 2024. While the iPhone and Mac were central to the AI plans from the beginning, the Apple Watch was initially left out. watchOS 27 now makes it a fully integrated part of the Siri AI strategy.

AirPods extend Siri AI to the wrist

AirPods are a key component of the AI strategy for wearable devices. Even with the first developer beta of iOS 27, Siri AI can be used screen-free via AirPods – purely through voice commands, without looking at the display. On the Apple Watch, AirPods are intended to extend Siri AI in the same way as they already do on the iPhone.

This creates an interplay between watch and headphones that makes AI functions accessible on the go, without requiring a device with a screen to be actively held in the hand.

Why the Apple Watch is a perfect fit for an AI device

The real appeal of Siri AI on the Apple Watch lies in the many situations in which it's available. You don't always have AirPods in your ears, and your iPhone isn't constantly unlocked and readily accessible. The Apple Watch, on the other hand, is almost always unlocked on your wrist and instantly ready to use.

If Siri AI continues to impress and watchOS 27 delivers as promised, the Apple Watch could become the first mass-market AI wearable overnight – a fresh sales incentive for an already successful product category.

These models will receive watchOS 27

watchOS 27 requires an Apple Watch Series 9 or later, an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, or an Apple Watch SE 3. Users of older models will remain on the previous system – and therefore without the new Siri AI features on their wrist.

The catch for users in Germany and the EU

As promising as that sounds, Siri AI won't be available on the Apple Watch in the EU at launch. The reason lies in device dependency. Siri AI on watchOS 27 requires a paired iPhone with Siri AI – and that's precisely what's missing in this country, because Apple isn't initially shipping Siri AI on iPhones and iPads in the EU, citing the Digital Markets Act. The watch simply inherits the iPhone's limitation.

Users in the EU will therefore only receive Siri AI on macOS 27 and visionOS 27, but not on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. The fact that the DMA (Digital Access Management) specifically blocks Siri AI on iPhone and iPad, while sparing Mac and Vision Pro, is due to the classification of iOS and iPadOS as core platform services. This places Siri AI among a number of Apple features that are currently unavailable in the EU. Apple has not yet announced a timeframe for its eventual release on iPhone and iPad.

From fitness tracker to AI smartwatch

Strategically, this move is more remarkable than the dry watchOS 27 feature sheet suggests. A watch that is constantly worn and instantly accesses powerful AI shifts the role of the Apple Watch from a health and fitness companion to a permanently present AI interface. This could reposition the Apple Watch in the competitive wearables market. For the German-speaking market, however, this leap remains theoretical for now – as long as Siri AI on iPhones and iPads is blocked in the EU, the promise of AI on the wrist won't reach this market. (Image: Apple)