I tested Siri AI, and it’s performing surprisingly well.
Parents are looking for one key feature from AI: the ability to quickly add soccer games or themed days from an email or a messy flyer directly to their calendar. Good news for iPhone users—Siri has stepped up its game.
After a rocky start with its initial AI rollout, Apple is back with an upgraded Siri that can engage in conversations about your garden woes, compile a shopping list for your next DIY project, and even remind you to tend to your plants. It can pull information from your emails and calendar to provide useful answers, like when to leave for the airport. Plus, it can now add events from emails straight to your calendar. I tested these features myself, and they worked seamlessly. This time, Siri’s AI is the real deal.
However, when you compare it to what’s been available on Android, it feels a bit basic for 2026. Google’s chatbot has been able to extract multiple calendar events from screenshots for over a year now, and it’s been diagnosing plant issues and scheduling reminders for quite some time. Since Siri is built on Gemini models, it’s understandable that its first AI version feels reminiscent of Gemini from 2025.
Siri AI has its unique touch, though. Apple employs a lot of proprietary technology behind the scenes. It utilizes on-device data from emails and messages, indexing this information so Siri can access the relevant details when needed. If a prompt requires more processing power, it sends only the necessary personal data to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. In contrast, Gemini accesses personal context by directly connecting to your Gmail or calendar, provided you opt in.
The effectiveness of Siri AI hinges on its ability to understand context, and so far, it’s performing well. For instance, when I asked about returning rented camera gear for an event, it pulled the due date from my calendar and email. Similarly, asking it to “add these events to my calendar” reliably prompted it to reference the information displayed on my screen. So far, so good.
I didn’t push Siri to its limits, but it responded appropriately to offbeat prompts with a firm “I can’t help you with that.” In terms of conversation, the new Siri feels a bit more straightforward compared to Gemini. When I asked both about my wilting flowers, they provided detailed responses, but Gemini started with a more empathetic tone, while Siri got straight to the point.
The new Siri also handled follow-up requests effectively. When I asked for a nearby garden center, it provided a solid recommendation. It even created a reminder list for my gardening project and added a calendar event—all from a single command. While these features are basic, the fact that they function at all marks a significant improvement that’s been a long time coming.
Siri is now more integrated into the iPhone experience. I’ve started swiping down on the home screen to search for apps, and there’s a prominent prompt to “search or ask” with a blinking cursor. Long-pressing the wake button now brings up Siri from the Dynamic Island, rather than just a glowing border around the screen. These changes contribute to a feeling that Siri is always within reach.
This version of Siri feels like the AI assistant you’d create if you were confident it wouldn’t fail. It offers a straightforward set of features—not quite ordering your food for you—but it delivers on its promises. For a company that previously made grand claims about Siri that didn’t pan out, this is a significant milestone. “It works” and “It will actually be available to users” are two crucial benchmarks Apple needed to hit. Currently in developer beta, this iteration of Siri feels much more genuine than the initial AI version showcased at a previous event. Apple needs this Siri to rebuild trust, and from what I’ve seen, it’s a promising step in that direction.
