Using Apple Intelligence with Siri: Features and iOS 27 Outlook

Apple Intelligence takes Siri to a new level: more precise in its understanding, more flexible in its response, and enhanced with ChatGPT for sophisticated queries. Even in iOS 26, the assistant offers noticeably more features – and with iOS 27, the biggest Siri overhaul in years is on the horizon. Between practical tweaks for today and a fundamental relaunch lies just one update.

Siri is an integral part of everyday iPhone use for many, but with Apple Intelligence, its capabilities extend far beyond simple voice commands. Requests are understood more reliably, can be formulated more flexibly, and can be forwarded to ChatGPT if needed. The prerequisite for this is that Apple Intelligence is set up and activated on your iPhone – only then will the extended Siri functions be available. The following sections highlight the most important ones and explain what changes with the switch to iOS 27.

Here's how to talk or type with Siri

Siri queries can be spoken or typed. Typing is particularly useful in libraries, meetings, or quiet environments. On iOS 26, you'll find the relevant setting in "Settings" > "Apple Intelligence & Siri"; on iOS 27, this section is simply called "Siri." There, you can enable the option to submit queries via the keyboard instead of voice.

Siri remains flexible even mid-request. If you correct yourself while speaking, you don't have to start over. For example: "Set an alarm - no, a timer for 10 minutes - or better yet, 15 minutes." The correction is recognized, and Siri sets a timer for 15 minutes.

Siri answers questions about your Apple devices

Siri helps not only with iPhones, but also with questions about iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, AirPods, HomePods, and Apple TVs. Typical examples:

• "How can I edit photos on my iPhone?"
• "How do I download an app to my iPad?"
• "How do I connect my AirPods to my iPhone?"
• "How do I play the audio from my Apple TV through the HomePod?"

Instead of searching through the settings for a long time, you get the appropriate step-by-step explanation directly on the screen.

Inquiries that build upon one another

One of the most practical improvements brought by Apple Intelligence is that Siri retains the context of multiple requests. This allows commands to be chained together without having to state the full context each time.

• First: "How did the San Francisco Giants play recently?"
• Then: "When is the next game?"
• Finally: "Put that in my calendar."

Siri recognizes that the second and third requests relate to the same thing and processes them in a logical order.

ChatGPT as an extension for Siri

For complex questions, creative tasks, or document analysis, Siri can be connected to the ChatGPT extension. The extension is also available in the EU and can be set up in just a few steps; a ChatGPT account is not required. Examples of queries:

• "Please ChatGPT write a haiku about autumn."
• "What should I give a hobby angler for his birthday?"
• "Summarize this document" – for example, when opening a PDF in the "Files" app.

The ChatGPT settings can be found in the same place as the other Siri options: on iOS 26 in "Apple Intelligence & Siri" > "ChatGPT", on iOS 27 in "Siri" > "ChatGPT".

Data protection and control at ChatGPT

Before photos or documents are sent to ChatGPT, Siri asks for permission each time. Whether this prompt appears with every request can be adjusted in the same settings. Users who don't want to use ChatGPT at all can disable the extension completely there. This ensures that it remains traceable at all times what content leaves the device – a key component of Apple's privacy approach.

What the new Siri generation brings with iOS 27

With iOS 27 comes the real leap: Apple has rebuilt Siri from the ground up and is introducing the completely revamped assistant under the name Siri AI. Instead of individual voice commands, Siri AI can handle continuous conversations with follow-up questions, and multiple tasks can be combined into a single request. Apple identifies four core capabilities that work together seamlessly:

• Personal context: Access to emails, messages, files, photos, and notes – and understanding them. This is how requests like "Show me the photos from the festival this weekend" or the search for the confirmation number for the next flight work.
• World knowledge: For up-to-date information, Siri AI searches the web and answers questions on almost any topic, analyzes documents, or helps with travel planning.
• Screen awareness: Siri AI reads text and analyzes images on the screen, summarizes a page or translates a menu – without the need to explain the context again.
• App actions: Tasks are completed directly in apps, such as writing a short reply to an email, creating an appointment, rescheduling a meeting, or adding a stop to a route.

Technically, Siri AI is based on Apple's Foundation Models, which were developed using the technology behind Google's Gemini models – Google technology at the core, but not Gemini itself. A system orchestrator coordinates the models, accessing the Spotlight index and a toolbox of app functions.

Search or ask instead of spotlight

On the iPhone, a new interface called "Search or Ask" replaces the previous Spotlight search. Swiping down from the center of the screen opens the input field, where a question or instruction can be typed or spoken. After an answer, a text bar appears for follow-up questions; a "+" button allows users to add images or documents to the conversation. Siri AI can still be accessed via the side button and the wake words "Siri" and "Hey Siri." At the same time, the central Apple Intelligence switch in Settings has been removed: AI features are enabled by default with iOS 27, and the "Apple Intelligence & Siri" menu is now simply called "Siri."

A dedicated Siri app

For the first time, there's a standalone Siri app. It displays recent conversations in a card view, makes past conversations searchable, and allows you to pin frequently used chats. Because conversations are synchronized, you can continue a conversation started on your iPhone on another device. Siri AI features are also available via CarPlay and AirPods.

Write with Siri

Wherever typing is used, iOS 27 offers "Type with Siri." This feature drafts texts from scratch, adopts the familiar writing style in Mail and Messages, and edits existing text according to your instructions - for example, to make an email more formal, convert bullet points into continuous text, or shorten a text to three sentences. Because Siri AI also answers many questions directly with web knowledge, the ChatGPT workaround becomes less important, though it remains available as an extension.

What applies to Germany and the EU

For German users, the launch comes with two setbacks. Firstly, Siri AI won't initially launch on iPhone and iPad because Apple cites the Digital Markets Act as an obstacle. This affects the standalone Siri app, the significantly enhanced Visual Intelligence, "Type with Siri," and Siri mode in the Camera app. However, Siri AI will be available on Mac and Apple Vision Pro in Germany. The Apple Watch remains unaffected because Siri on the Watch works via the paired iPhone – and the new generation is blocked on iPhones in the EU. The other new Apple Intelligence features – such as those in Photos, Safari, and Image Playground – as well as the basic functions described in this article, remain available in the EU. Therefore, for now, only the new Siri generation is among the Apple features missing in the EU.

Secondly, Siri AI initially runs exclusively in English, supporting several country variants from Australia to the USA. More languages are planned for later. For German-speaking users, this means that even on Macs, where the EU block doesn't apply, an English language setting is required to use Siri AI at all for the time being.

Using Siri today – keeping the new generation in mind

Even in its current form, Siri handles many everyday tasks: typed queries, understandable answers for Apple devices, sequential commands, and ChatGPT for more in-depth interactions. These features are available regardless of region or language and are already worthwhile. The major overhaul to conversational Siri AI will arrive with iOS 27 – initially not on iPhones and iPads in the EU, and only in English at launch, but available from the start on Macs and Vision Pro. Those who take full advantage of the current features will be well-prepared for the transition.

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