Apple is pitching a privacy-first overhaul of Siri, yet multiple leaks say the assistant will run on Google’s Gemini models. The company plans a rebuilt, conversation-focused Siri inside iOS 27 and other OS updates, including a standalone Siri app with an iMessage-style interface, iCloud conversation sync and new automatic deletion timers for chat history. Reported details also describe a hybrid technical design that mixes on-device inference and external Gemini models, plus broad Apple Intelligence upgrades for Camera, Photos, Image Playground and app agents. The keynote on June 8 will show the first public demos and give precise rollout dates.

The overhaul promises tighter local privacy safeguards, yet the heavy lifting appears set to occur inside Google’s Gemini models, a contrast that shapes expectations for WWDC on June 8.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has described a major redesign of Siri that will feel more like an app than a one-shot assistant. The new experience is said to be a standalone Siri app with an iMessage-like interface that preserves conversation history, syncs across devices via iCloud and supports multi-step, context-aware tasks. That account says Apple will surface more controls for how long conversations are stored, with automatic deletion timers users can set to 30 days, one year, or keep the history indefinitely.

How Apple plans to square privacy with big models

Reported coverage points to a hybrid architecture: Google’s Gemini models will provide the core large-model logic while Apple will route some inference to local hardware with additional encryption, according to reporting that cites internal sources. Apple’s framing, according to leaks, is that by mixing on-device processing and external models it can offer the conversational depth users expect from chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude while still applying stronger privacy controls for sensitive data.

Apple will also put Siri into more visual places across the OS. Leaked details show an Ask Siri toggle built into system apps, a Write with Siri composition tool and a Dynamic Island or translucent overlay to show Siri progress and results. Those interface changes aim to make Siri both more present and less disruptive, so users can keep a task going as the assistant runs multiple steps behind the scenes.

Apple Intelligence is the banner under which these changes are expected to arrive. The Camera app is said to gain a redesigned Visual Intelligence section and a dedicated Siri mode listed alongside Photo, Video and Portrait. That Visual Intelligence feature reportedly will identify objects in images using Google Image Search signals, while the Photos app will add AI-driven scene recommendations, natural-language photo-editing commands and automatic object removal tools, as described in TechCrunch and Yahoo summaries.

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Image Playground, Apple’s image-generation tool, is reported to receive both quality and interface upgrades. Leaks describe higher-fidelity outputs, more consistent character rendering, broader artistic styles and a simplified creation workflow. A new edit flow called "describe a change" will let users tweak images by writing what they want changed, and a suggested Genmoji feature could propose custom emoji based on a user’s media and text. The company is positioning these generative features as everyday creative tools and as examples of how Apple will fold generative AI into device workflows.

Separately, The Information reported Apple is testing agent integrations that act on users’ behalf inside apps. That agent concept will probably let users delegate tasks such as booking reservations, editing documents, managing routines and controlling smart home devices through a more autonomous assistant layer. Sources say Apple plans an agent model inside the App Store so third-party developers can ship task-oriented assistants, which would expand the platform beyond Apple-built agents.

Smaller but practical app changes are part of the package. Wallet is rumoured to get new bill-splitting functions for shared expenses, and system previews will show how iOS 27, macOS 27 and watchOS will incorporate the new Siri behaviours and Apple Intelligence tools. Coverage framing around those moves notes Apple has been treating the forthcoming announcements as a course correction after Apple Intelligence’s problematic 2024 debut, with an emphasis on tighter privacy controls alongside more visible generative capabilities.

Apple will stream the keynote at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on June 8 via the Apple Developer app, Apple’s website and the Apple Developer YouTube channel. The event will be the first time the public sees precise demos, rollout timing and availability for iOS 27 and the revamped Siri, and it will test whether the hybrid model approach satisfies both privacy-minded users and those who want the conversational power of large models.

There are practical trade-offs for Apple to manage. Routing inference to an external model can boost capability rapidly, but it makes people wonder about control and trust.

Relying on Google’s Gemini to power core assistant logic shifts some dependency outside Apple’s hardware and software stack, even as on-device processing and encryption promise to limit exposure of private information. How Apple explains that compromise to users will matter at launch.

For developers, the agent model inside the App Store is potentially significant. If third-party apps can ship assistants that take multi-step actions, that changes the nature of app functionality and monetisation. The leaks suggest Apple wants to enable those flows while keeping review and platform guardrails in place, though the exact mechanics will only be clear after Apple’s demos and documentation appear.

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Apple will present the new Siri and Apple Intelligence demos during the June 8 keynote at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, and that event will supply the precise rollout dates and device availability for iOS 27 and the rebuilt assistant. Originally reported by techcrunch.com.

This article was created with AI assistance.