Siri Gets a Makeover: Apple rolls out its new AI-powered assistant

It is no secret that Siri, among the earliest virtual assistants and part of the Apple ecosystem since iPhone 4S way back in 2011, has struggled in the AI age. Users have caught on to AI models capable of executing sophisticated tasks, while using Siri mainly for simple tasks like playing music or setting alarms.

Apple is now trying to change this. It has just rolled out Siri AI, its much-delayed AI-powered revamp of the virtual assistant, as part of its iOS 27 software. Although it is still a beta feature, it is available for almost everyone.

The new Siri is a major overhaul. It can analyse what’s on your screen, operate apps, and respond to queries and tasks by accessing information stored in your messages, calendar, and other apps. The advantage Siri has over other AI assistants is that it will be able to access the iOS ecosystem and your apps. This is not too different from Google, whose AI assistant can also work through Google’s Android operating system and apps.

How successful Siri AI will eventually become will depend on a large part on how much third-party developers play along. Third party developers may find more visibility and use if they allow their apps to work easily with the new Siri.

It may be a much-delayed launch, but a new Siri is finally here.

Game On

In a push to make games accessible even beyond its app, popular gaming platform Roblox will begin allowing creators to distribute their games as standalone apps across devices. According to the platform, it will provide the underlying technology and services for these apps that will be accessible on consoles, PCs and mobile devices. By year end, players will also be able to join games in Chrome from a game’s Experience Details page without downloading an app.

Headset Go

Valve, the game publisher and consumer hardware developer, has just come out with its latest VR headset, Steam Frame, which has left many excited. At $1,299 for a device with 1TB storage, it might be among the costliest headsets around, but it is also said to be lighter and more comfortable than others. Completely wireless, it can run both flat and VR games as well as stream games from your PC.

Grok on MS Office

Last year, Microsoft had announced that it was adding SpaceXAI’s Grok models to its Foundry service. Now, this is being expanded to Copilot, which means Grok can now be used in Microsoft’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint softwares. The company claims it is starting with a preview release so it can “gather feedback”. All of this means that Office Copilot users can now choose between a variety of AI models from OpenAI’s GPT models and Anthropic’s Claude to SpaceXAI’s Grok.