Apple Intelligence and a better Siri may be coming to iPhones this spring

Siri will finally get better in spring 2025 when Apple makes its Apple Intelligence AI system available to everyone via its iOS 18.4 update, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter. That’s more specific than Apple has been — so far, it’s only said the flagship AI features will be available next year.

Apple regularly doles out its new features piecemeal, in point updates, across its operating systems. So it’s possible, for instance, that Siri will gain the ability (via Apple Intelligence) to do things on your behalf like dig your ID out of your 20,000-photo-deep library in Photos and copy your driver’s license number to enter into an online form, but perhaps the AI-powered emoji generation or writing assistance features won’t be ready yet. Gurman doesn’t speak directly to that, but it’s good to keep in mind.

What’s coming first should become clearer as beta versions of iOS 18 start incorporating the features later this year and the 18.4 release approaches. In the meantime, features like ChatGPT integration, a new Siri interface that ditches the old circle graphic for a pulsing rainbow around the inside of the screen bezel, and deeper product knowledge that lets Siri give you basic tech support are expected this fall.

Down the road, Apple’s AI plan apparently includes those AirPods with embedded cameras that pop up in rumors from time to time, such as in last week’s rumor from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, saying they would have infrared sensors and be used in concert with the Vision Pro, for hand gesture and motion detection. Gurman describes something akin to Meta’s Ray-ban glasses — for example, AI could process imagery from them to describe things in your environment or help you navigate while you’re walking. These new AirPods Pro, he writes, might be two generations away.