Apple to officially unveil a reimagined version of its virtual assistant, Siri, as early as mid-February 2026. This new version ensures a much more chatty delivery, modelling its style of communication after AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The new features should be a pretty good preview of Apple’s long term vision to keep making technology more accessible and easier to use.
This focus on a more naturalistic, conversational Siri is a major step in Apple’s evolution of their strategy for their assistant. We’ve seen recent testimony alluding to how this major update will deliver transformative new features. These features will allow Siri to have two-way conversations with users, much like today’s leading AI chatbots. Apple is apparently on a quest to improve its AI prowess. This method of evolution is no different except the fine tuning is specifically used to create better natural language processing.
An equally significant element of this new Siri is its likely ability to run on Google’s massive cloud infrastructure. This collaboration with Google will be critical to building the new and improved assistant. Powerful new capabilities It’s hard to exaggerate how much this could improve Siri’s capabilities and overall effectiveness. In fact, insiders claim that Apple has discovered the new promise of Siri through this relationship.
As expected, there’s been some drama around the rebuilding of the new Siri. Apple audio exec Mike Rockwell confirmed the news in no uncertain terms, calling a previous report by Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman “bulls–t.” Recent confirmations from the Google partnership and the exit of Apple’s AI chief John Giannandrea have bolstered Gurman’s assertions. Taken together, these developments point to some big changes ahead for the assistant.
Giannandrea’s departure from Apple happened before the new Siri project even started. His departure sparked speculation about the new direction Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts would take under his guidance. That project is currently led by the Apple’s new AI chief. Drawing from their respective experiences at Google and Microsoft, they’re underlining a strategic shift in a new direction toward integrating cloud technology and cutting-edge AI techniques into Siri’s development.
For all the excitement over this announcement, real details on the new and improved Siri are still hard to come by. The company has not yet announced details about other features or functionalities that will come with this new release.