Report: Apple working on next-gen humanlike AI ‘personality’ that’s not Siri

Later this fall, Apple will ship a brand new, Apple Intelligence-infused Siri in iOS 18.1. The revamped digital assistant will gain a variety of new features that hopefully make it smarter than ever. But according to a new report, there’s another AI ‘personality’ in the works at Apple. This other personality, entirely separate from Siri, is being built for future Apple robotics devices.

The next-gen Siri isn’t next-gen enough for Apple robotics

When Apple Intelligence arrives in iOS 18.1, it will provide the first experience with a new and improved Siri.

But Apple’s work on the digital assistant is only getting started there. Many of Siri’s most powerful new capabilities aren’t scheduled to arrive until some time in 2025.

Despite all the promise of this up-and-coming Siri, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reports that Apple is already developing an alternative personality.

The news arrives in a larger piece outlining Apple’s efforts in robotics.

Gurman writes in his Power On newsletter:

One vital piece of the robotic work is the creation of a personality. While Siri is the digital assistant on Apple’s current devices, the company is working on another humanlike interface based on generative AI. It could run on the tabletop product and other future Apple robotics devices, I’m told.

This paragraph raises a number of interesting questions about Siri’s future:

• why would Apple’s robotics products need a separate personality for them?
• will the generative AI powering this new personality be more advanced than what Siri gets?
• could this next-gen project eventually just be branded Siri?

With Apple’s first robotics projects not expected to debut until 2026 or 2027, it’s far too early to get answers to these questions.

9to5Mac’s Take

This report is perplexing, to say the least. I can’t imagine Apple creating a brand new assistant for its new products, even robotics devices. If it wanted to ditch the Siri branding, it likely would have done so now, with the launch of Apple Intelligence.

Clearly a personality for Apple robotics devices would need to do different things than Siri can do now. But does that merit a whole new name and branding? I’m skeptical.

Do you think Apple should create a new AI personality for future products? Or is sticking with Siri the best move? Let us know in the comments.