Siri’s major Apple Intelligence overhaul could arrive sooner than expected so you might not need to wait until iOS 18.4 to get your hands on the voice assistant’s swanky new features.
According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, some of the new Apple Intelligence-powered Siri features could be included in iOS 18.3 rather than iOS 18.4. Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter, “The biggest iOS 18 update after iOS 18.1 will be iOS 18.4, which will include many of the new Siri features (some are in consideration for iOS 18.3, I’m told).”
While there’s not much to go off there, it’s the first indication we’ve had that any of Siri’s major Apple Intelligence features could arrive before iOS 18.4 which is expected to launch around March 2025.
The Siri Apple Intelligence features in question include the voice assistant’s ability to understand what’s happening on your iPhone’s screen and personal context to become the personal assistant you’ve always wanted. While Gurman doesn’t say which Apple Intelligence features could arrive in iOS 18.3, it’s good news for those holding out before upgrading to the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro.
Siri's 18.3 glow-up
According to Gurman the Apple Intelligence rollout, which officially begins with iOS 18.1 in October, will continue with iOS 18.2 in December, iOS 18.3 in January, and iOS 18.4 arriving in March. This means Apple Intelligence’s initial set of features unveiled at WWDC 2024 should be out in the wild before Q2 2025.
As it stands, Siri in iOS 18.1 includes a redesign and the ability to reply to multiple prompts. Unfortunately, it lacks the Apple Intelligence muscles and ChatGPT integration that will make Apple’s voice assistant a genuine competitor to the likes of Google Gemini on the Pixel 9 Pro.
