Apple has finally unveiled a truly intelligent version of Siri at WWDC 2026 — and after years of delays and underwhelming Apple Intelligence features, the new assistant appears to deliver on the promises the company made years ago. But not every iPhone will get the upgrade. Here’s everything you need to know about which devices are compatible and what Siri AI can actually do.
Which iPhones Support Siri AI?
The new Siri AI is exclusive to devices that support Apple Intelligence. That means you’ll need at least an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to run the assistant on your phone. Apple silicon-powered iPads and Macs are also supported, along with the 2024 iPad mini, which shares the same system-on-chip as the iPhone 15 Pro.
If you’re unsure whether your device qualifies, Apple suggests a quick check: open the Settings app, scroll down, and look for an “Apple Intelligence & Siri” section. If it’s there, your phone will get the AI-powered Siri upgrade when iOS 27 rolls out this fall.
Interestingly, Apple plans to release Siri AI initially as a beta — users will likely need to manually opt in, similar to the waitlist system used for the iOS 27 developer beta. However, iOS 27 itself has broad compatibility extending all the way back to the iPhone 11, so most users won’t miss out on the OS update itself even if their hardware can’t run the new Siri.
A Smarter, More Context-Aware Assistant
Siri AI represents a meaningful leap forward. The assistant is now equipped to handle personal requests with genuine contextual awareness — it can reference information from your notes, messages, emails, and photos to provide relevant answers. It’s powered by newer Apple Foundation Models that run on-device, improving both response times and privacy. For more complex prompts, the system offloads work to larger models in the cloud through Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, which the company claims keeps your data inaccessible to anyone but you.
Premium Features for Pro Models
If you own an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or the new iPhone Air, you’ll get access to an even more powerful on-device AI model. This enables expressive voices for Siri, improved speech recognition, and more accurate dictation. The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and rumoured iPhone Fold will also feature these enhanced on-device capabilities.
However, it remains unclear whether the base model iPhone 18 will benefit from the same treatment. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reported that Apple is looking to increase memory in non-Pro iPhones to 9GB, but the company has stated that its most powerful on-device AI models require at least 12GB of RAM.
A Genuinely Useful Upgrade
Let’s be honest — much of the Apple Intelligence suite so far has felt like a collection of sloppy AI features that don’t meaningfully improve the iPhone experience. Siri AI appears to break that pattern. Even in its beta form, early hands-on reports indicate the virtual assistant is fast, accurate, and genuinely useful for answering complex queries and carrying out chained commands. After years of being the virtual assistant that refused to grow up, Siri may finally be ready to compete.