Topline
Apple unveiled a range of products Wednesday during its “Surprise and shine” event, including plans to launch an AI overhaul of Siri with an upcoming iOS update that will be capable of listening to and recapping live conversations recorded through users’ phones or watches.
Siri AI will launch this month.
Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Siri AI, which was first announced and made available to developers in June, will launch alongside iOS 27 on Sept. 14.
Siri AI’s Recap feature can listen in on conversations and make summaries of them with quotes included, allowing users to gather information they may have missed.
A “Live Rewind” tool is also coming to Apple Watch, which can transcribe the last 15 seconds of conversations.
Apple said in its presentation Wednesday its devices will not retain actual audio recordings and that conversations processed by the Recap and Live Rewind features are end-to-end encrypted.
What We Don’t Know
Apple’s privacy section in the release published Tuesday is brief and does not explain how its AI system can be aware of user information without retaining it.
Tangent
Apple’s AI announcement comes on the heels of warnings from an Anthropic staffer and former OpenAI and Anthropic employee who warned Tuesday night that AI could cause human extinction within the next decade. Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s alignment science lead, said he personally believes there is greater than a 10% chance AI “could kill all humans” in the next 10 years.
What Else Comes With The iOS 27 Update?
The iOS 27 update will also bolster Siri’s conversational capabilities and allow users to ask open-ended questions, engage in back-and-forth chats and brainstorm ideas. Using data from users’ email, photos, calendars and more, Siri AI will be able to answer more questions with personal context and take actions like editing text messages. Users can also allow Siri AI to use their cameras to see what is around them, with Apple providing examples such as evaluating nutritional value of meals, splitting bills with friends or getting information on real world items. Siri AI can also generate message drafts, proofread and match users’ “writing style, punctuation, and tone,” according to Apple. Apple says “Apple Intelligence is aware of your personal information without collecting your personal information,” saying the system “can draw on larger server-based models, without making your data accessible to Apple or anyone else.”
Key Background
Apple is playing catch-up in the AI race as it looks to compete more closely with offerings like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude model. The company says its latest A20 Pro chips will help it optimize AI assistants on its phones, watches and iPads. Many AI assistants are growing into autonomous helpers capable of completing multi-step tasks. They are also being increasingly integrated into apps, which Siri AI will be capable of, Apple says. The company has spent far less on artificial intelligence than its competitors, recording around $12 billion in AI capital expenditure in 2025 while rivals like Google, Amazon and Meta collectively dedicated hundreds of billions of dollars toward AI that same year.
Further Reading
Anthropic Researcher Warns There’s ‘>10% Chance’ AI Could ‘Kill All Humans’ By Next Decade (Forbes)
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