Virtual assistants are taking an increasingly larger share of the market – from the simplest functions to the automation of complex tasks in various situations. Alongside the growing needs of users, the number of service providers is also rising. One of them – Apple’s Siri – is making more noise about potential upgrades, which could be released in the near future.

Apple News

It is already known that Apple plans to release the latest version of their virtual assistant, with major improvements in personalization. Back in early March this year, the company announced a delay in launching the enhanced personalized features of AI assistant, and the latest discussions leave room for speculation, with expectations that the updates could reach users as early as this fall.

Regardless of when the new version of this virtual assistant is released, certain improvements can already be anticipated. For example, Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy summarized the upcoming Siri changes:

“Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we’ve made it more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We’ve also been working on a more personalized virtual assistant, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features.”

It is expected to be one of the best versions of a virtual assistant, featuring a fully revamped architecture. For instance, the program will be able to edit and send photos to other people.

This indicates that Apple’s AI assistant will be significantly better at understanding context, accurately reading information on the mobile device to deliver more precise query results. It will also be able to comprehend less grammatically correct speech and assist with various technical issues when searching for solutions.

This seems truly unique, as the system, for example, will be able to find a specific podcast recommended by a person, even without specifying the platform or format in which it was mentioned.

Another part of the update focuses on performing actions on your behalf. Siri will be able to send an email saved as a draft, send photos as mentioned, add contacts, and more.

This enhancement of contextual understanding and integration of such features will allow the virtual assistant to further personalize the user experience and offer highly tailored solutions.

Updates Won’t Work Everywhere

These solutions fundamentally integrate AI capabilities. This means that the update won’t be available on all smart devices.

The “Apple Intelligence” technology currently only works on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 series, so if you have an older model, these updates may not be available even after updating to iOS 18.5.

Not the Only Option on the Market

Aside from Siri – one of the market leaders and first virtual assistant products – users can choose from several other widely known assistants. These include Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Virtual assistants are also offered by Samsung – Bixby and Microsoft – Microsoft Copilot.

Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of a virtual assistant depends on individual needs.

Google Assistant is available on all Android and iOS devices. The availability of Microsoft Copilot has now significantly decreased, as this assistant is mainly supported as a Microsoft Office integration within Outlook or Microsoft Teams.

Amazon Alexa can also perform various tasks, including answering general questions, setting music and alarms, ordering products from Amazon, and controlling smart homes. Similar functionalities are offered by Google Assistant integrated into the Google Home ecosystem. Since Apple virtual assistant is integrated into Apple devices, it still has a more limited range of functions compared to its competitors.

Final Thoughts

The virtual assistant market is quite large, and these solutions offer users many daily benefits in managing their time and tasks. As we can see, Siri – with its improving AI capabilities – promises to push the boundaries of virtual assistants and deliver even better solutions in the future.

If you are interested in this topic, we suggest you check our articles:

• Apple Intelligence: Updated iOS with AI-Powered Innovation
• Advancements in AI Voice Assistants: Sesame’s Maya

Sources: Business News Daily, Daring Fireball, Hindustan Times, Life Hacker, Medium, The Verge