The Digital Assistant War, Round 2: AppleGPT-Powered Siri to Launch This Year

The last few years witnessed a substantial digital assistant transformation mainly powered by artificial intelligence.

Microsoft and OpenAI, Google and Bard, as well as the industry's investments in ChatGPT-like capabilities, put Large Learning Models, also dubbed LLMs, at the forefront of the digital assistant revolution.

If you've been interacting with digital assistants lately, you probably noticed Apple's Siri feels terribly outdated. Siri has barely improved lately, and the only notable update is the offline support that debuted on the Apple Watch last year.

Otherwise, Siri feels old, outdated, and a waste of time, especially compared with the other digital assistants on the market.

But that's about to change, as Apple has prioritized the transformation of Siri into a next-generation digital assistant. The update will be announced this year, with a preview expected to be unveiled at the WWDC developer event in a few months.

A recent report indicates that the next-generation Siri will adopt Apple's LLM, internally referred to as AppleGPT. While the nomenclature looks similar to ChatGPT, Apple aims for far more advanced capabilities. It's the reason the iPhone maker couldn't take the wraps off the new-generation Siri earlier, as the backend technology involves massive work focused on two big directions.

First, Apple wants the new Siri to conduct all processing on the device. It means no data would be uploaded to its servers for processing, eventually generating two main benefits. The operation will be faster because it no longer needs to send and receive data to and from a remote server, and it'll offer increased privacy. Apple is known as a company whose marketing model focuses on privacy, so the new Siri version would allow it to continue its push in this direction.

The biggest challenge Apple has to address is the resources on-device processing would require. It's safe to assume the new-gen Siri wouldn't be available on old iPhones, likely requiring newer Apple chips to work. The operation could also impact the iPhone battery life, so Apple must find a way to optimize every part of the process. It's another reason why the Cupertino-based firm couldn't unveil the new Siri earlier.

Second, Apple wants its AppleGPT-powered assistant to offer more advanced functionality than the current implementations from rival companies. Most AI-powered chatbots offer language processing, meaning they work with text. Apple is aiming for photo and video processing too, though considering the on-device processing, it'll be interesting to see how the company manages to deal with the limited resources of a smartphone to handle all tasks.

Apple might only allow language processing on the device, whereas more advanced capabilities like audio and video support would only be available with the processing taking place on a remote server.

A recent report citing analysts familiar with the matter revealed the next-generation Siri would launch this year, as Apple can't wait any longer. The company is already late to the party, given that its rivals have launched similar products, so the only way to remain relevant in the battle is to develop something more advanced.

The new-generation Siri is also integral to Apple's automotive expansion. The company has already announced the new-generation CarPlay experience, which will debut in Aston Martin and Porsche models this year. Other carmakers will adopt it, too, and offering an upgraded digital assistant is part of the promises.

Siri will be in charge of doing more advanced operations, especially as it integrates deeper into the vehicle. Like Google Assistant on Android Automotive, Siri will probably be able to adjust the vehicle's climate control system and connect to a smart home to control the lights and the smart garage door. AppleGPT will also power a more natural interaction with the user.

Apple's long-term strategy includes an electric vehicle often referred to as the Apple Car. The most recent speculation indicates the Apple Car could launch in 2028, and the upgraded Siri experience will be in charge of powering the interaction between the vehicle and the driver. Apple originally planned to launch the Apple Car as a self-driving model with fully autonomous capabilities, but the project has turned into a more conventional approach that'll boast limited features on this front.

Apple has remained tight-lipped on everything related to its digital assistant plans, but we'll probably get a preview of what's to come at its developer event in the spring. The new Siri will become available as part of the iOS 18 update due in the fall.

Considering iOS 17 only supports the iPhone XS and newer, it'll be interesting to see how Apple handles the device support in the upcoming iOS update, especially as the upgraded Siri experience will require more resources for its feature lineup.