Apple Opens Its Long-Awaited Siri AI to the Public With iOS 27 Beta

Apple has granted access to its long-awaited Siri AI with the iOS 27 public beta, which is available to any user with an iPhone 11 or newer. The release offers users a first look at Apple’s fully revamped assistant. Based on what we’ve heard so far, Siri AI understands more natural queries, reasons through multi‑step tasks, and uses on‑device context, like messages, emails, and photos, to produce more personalized and helpful responses.

You can activate the assistant by saying “Hey Siri,” pressing and holding the side button, or visiting the dedicated Siri AI app. There, you can interact with Siri through a chat-style interface typical of most generative AI platforms, as well as view previous conversations. When on-device processing isn’t enough, Siri can send tasks to Apple’s Private Cloud, which uses Apple servers.

Reports from testers say the new Siri AI feels much like other AI chatbots such as Gemini or ChatGPT, though they still see errors and occasional misunderstandings. That’s typical of a beta, though, and we can expect bumps like these to be ironed out before an official rollout, which is expected to take place this fall.

In addition to the refreshed Siri assistant, the public iOS 27 beta offers speed improvements and UI refinements.

As with all beta software, we recommend that only users who understand the risks install iOS 27. If that’s you, here’s a helpful guide on installing the beta from our colleagues at PCMag.