Apple may have scaled back a few of its original AI features for Siri
Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?
Apple’s AI vision for Siri is bigger than one update; expect an incremental rollout now, with a dramatically smarter, chatbot-style assistant coming later this year.
Digital Trends
Apple will roll out the new AI-based capabilities for Siri (based on Google’s Gemini AI) in phases. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Cupertino giant is gearing up to demonstrate the revamped Siri “in the second half of February.”
Whether Apple gives the demonstration in the form of an in-person event or a controlled briefing is something that Gurman isn’t sure about. However, since it’s a big unveiling for Apple, the company might host a small event.
A phased Siri update begins with iOS 26.4
Following the Siri demonstration, which included features like contextually aware responses (based on users’ personal data) and access to on-screen content, Apple should release them with iOS 26.4.
For those catching up, iOS 26.4 has been rumored to enter beta testing in February, with a public rollout expected in either March or April (but not later than that). As mentioned in the report, the Siri version that ships with iOS 26.4 is based on “Apple Foundation Models version 10.”
The company’s foundation models would be based on a customized version of Gemini that “runs at roughly 1.2 trillion parameters.” Initially, Apple will host the new AI-based features on its Private Cloud Compute servers.
However, the rollout of a couple of new AI-based features with Siri is only the first phase. At the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2026, Apple plans to “unveil a fully reimagined Siri,” codenamed “Campos,” with a fresh interface and architecture “for the chatbot era.”
The fully reimagined Siri is reserved for iOS 27
This version of Siri, based on “Apple Foundation Models version 11,” will be much more conversational, capable of live conversation (similar to Gemini Live), and provide a more chatbot-like experience than ever. Per Gurman, this model will be far more capable than the one we’ll see with iOS 26.4.
Instead of running this version on Apple’s Private Computer servers, the companies are discussing processing it “directly” on Google’s servers (with the high-power tensor processing units).
Hence, don’t expect to see all the AI smarts Apple promised for Siri next month, as the company will reserve a massive chunk of it for a big iOS 27 unveil. The new operating system, like every year, should go official with the iPhone 18 Pro launch expected in September 2026.
For more than five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified developments in the field of consumer tech and presented them…
Your WhatsApp voice notes could help screen for early signs of depression
AI model identifies depression from WhatsApp voice notes with over 91% accuracy
It is becoming increasingly clear that the mundane habits of our daily lives – like sending a quick voice note to a friend – might soon hold the key to understanding our mental health. According to fascinating new research published on January 21, 2026, in PLOS Mental Health, a new medical AI model has proven it can detect major depressive disorder with startling accuracy, just by listening to short WhatsApp audio recordings.
The study, led by researchers in Brazil including Victor H. O. Otani from the Santa Casa de São Paulo School of Medical Sciences, found that their AI could identify depression in female participants with 91.9% accuracy. All the AI needed was a simple recording of the person describing how their week went.
Talk to AI every day? New research says it might signal depression
Study finds daily AI chatbot use tied to higher rates of moderate depressive symptoms in U.S. adults.
Spending time chatting with AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, or similar systems might be more than just a tech habit. A new study published in JAMA Network Open suggests that people who use AI chatbots daily are more likely to report moderate depressive symptoms compared with those who interact with them less frequently. Researchers found a roughly 30% higher odds of at least moderate depression among regular users, though they are careful to emphasize that this link is an association, not proof that chatbot use causes depression.
This finding comes from a national survey of nearly 21,000 U.S. adults conducted in 2025, where participants detailed how often they interacted with generative AI tools and completed standard mental health questionnaires. Within that group, about 10% said they used AI daily, and 5% said they engaged with chatbots multiple times throughout the day. Those daily users showed higher rates of reported depressive symptoms and other negative emotional effects, such as anxiety and irritability.
You might actually be able to buy a Tesla robot in 2027
Elon Musk promises Optimus humanoid robots will go on sale by year’s end, if reliability and safety checks out
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again laid out an ambitious timeline for the company’s long-awaited humanoid robot, Optimus. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Musk said Tesla plans to begin selling Optimus robots to the public by the end of 2027, assuming the machines reach the levels of reliability, safety, and functionality the company is targeting.
The comments follow a series of years-long development milestones. Optimus, which was originally unveiled as the Tesla Bot in 2021, has undergone multiple prototype iterations and has already been pressed into service handling simple tasks in Tesla factories. According to Musk, those internal deployments will expand in complexity later this year, helping prepare the robotics platform for broader use.
