Apple to unveil iOS 27 with a privacy-focused AI assistant at WWDC

Apple is preparing a major update to its Siri voice assistant, set to debut in iOS 27. The company will unveil the new AI assistant at WWDC, with a focus on features designed to protect user privacy. This marks Apple's first serious attempt to compete head-on with ChatGPT and other mainstream chatbots.

A new Siri with AI capabilities

The redesigned Siri will gain capabilities comparable to ChatGPT and other modern language models. Apple is going beyond a voice assistant in the mold of the old Siri: it is adding a full-featured interface for natural, conversational interaction. The new agent will be able to handle complex multi-step tasks, answer detailed questions, and help with everyday work on the device.

The key difference is that all of this runs natively inside Apple's ecosystem. Siri already knows about your contacts, calendar, notes, and other data stored on the device. The update will expand that knowledge, letting the assistant act with more context and personalization. That lays the groundwork for genuinely individual interaction.

Privacy as the main weapon

As cloud chatbots grow explosively, Apple has chosen a different strategy from its rivals. Instead of simply copying what OpenAI and Google offer, the company is focusing on protecting personal data and user privacy. The new Siri features will process most information locally, on the device itself, sending minimal data to Apple's servers.

This matters a great deal to the millions of users who worry about how cloud AI services collect and use their personal information. While ChatGPT and similar services require data to be sent to remote servers for processing, the new Siri tries to keep user data where it is. Local processing means less reliance on an internet connection and faster responses from the assistant.

On top of that, Apple will not use your conversations with Siri to train its models. That sets it sharply apart from cloud competitors, which do collect this data.

"Privacy is what can truly set

Apple apart in a crowded chatbot market," a Bloomberg expert explained.

Competitive position in the market

Apple is attacking the AI assistant market from its historical strength: its ecosystem and its control over both hardware and software. Here are the new Siri's main advantages:

• Built into the iOS and macOS ecosystem — no separate app needed
• On-device data processing — core processing doesn't require an internet connection
• No explicit collection of user activity for model training
• Full integration with Apple services: Maps, Music, Calendar, Reminders, Health
• Protection from third-party tracking thanks to a closed architecture

When a user says "help me plan my day off," the new Siri can check the calendar and weather on its own and suggest a route that takes your preferences into account. All of this happens on the device, without your calendar being sent anywhere.

This lets Apple win over a growing audience of privacy-conscious users. Meanwhile, competitors remain focused exclusively on the power and capabilities of their models. For millions of users, privacy may become the deciding factor when choosing between services.

What it means

Apple is carving out its own niche in an overheated AI assistant market. Rather than joining the classic arms race over model parameter counts, the company is building a long-term strategy around user trust. For consumers, this means getting a powerful, full-featured AI assistant without having to compromise on privacy.

For competitors' businesses, this could become a serious challenge. Cloud chatbots depend on large-scale collection and analysis of user data to improve their models. If Apple can prove in practice that powerful AI assistants can be built while preserving privacy, it will upend the market. Microsoft, Google, and other cloud giants will be forced to change their business models.