Apple Revamps Siri With 7 AI Upgrades, Fulfilling 2-Year Promise

Q: Will new AI features drive massive hardware upgrades or leave millions of older Apple devices behind?

Apple’s new AI features are likely to do both: spur a meaningful upgrade cycle among users who want the latest capabilities, while excluding a very large base of older devices. The key reason is hardware gating. Apple Intelligence and the rebuilt Siri are not coming to every device that can run the latest software. On iPhone, the main cutoff is the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 16 lineup or newer; older models, including much of the iPhone 11–14 range and standard iPhone 15, can still get iOS 27 but not the headline AI tools. On iPad and Mac, the baseline is generally M1 chips or later, which leaves Intel Macs and older iPads out of the new AI layer. That split matters because Apple is embedding AI into the operating system, with much of the work done on-device for privacy and speed. Those features depend heavily on newer Apple silicon and memory capacity. Some of the most advanced functions require even newer hardware, such as M3- or M4-class devices and higher RAM, making the divide sharper. This should help Apple sell newer iPhones, iPads and Macs, especially to users who see Siri’s upgrade and Apple Intelligence as worth paying for. But it is unlikely to trigger an immediate, universal supercycle. Many consumers will keep older devices that still receive standard OS updates, while others may be held back by regional limits, including restrictions affecting China and some EU features. So the near-term effect is a selective upgrade wave, not a total replacement cycle.

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 15

Seven improvements in Apple’s new Siri suggest the assistant is finally ready to deliver the AI overhaul the company promised two years ago.
The strategy is framed less as a leap beyond rivals than as a catch-up effort aimed at pulling Apple out of its perceived AI crisis.
Hands-on testing indicated the new Siri is polished enough to stabilize Apple’s AI position, even if it mainly fulfills commitments already made rather than opening a new frontier.
That makes Siri a central test of whether Apple can restore confidence in its broader AI roadmap after a prolonged gap between promise and delivery.