Siri AI, “an AI that no one notices”: Apple’s new boss remains calm despite delays

In an interview published this weekend, John Ternus summed up his doctrine in one phrase: Apple does not want “to deliver AI for the sake of AI”. The successor to Tim Cook, who has been at the helm since September 1, says he “really likes” the company’s current position, long criticized for its lagging behind in artificial intelligence.He had already made that point in April, well before taking office.

The same divide since April

In mid-April, the person still leading hardware engineering described the AI race as “a marathon, not a sprint”; on the 21st, at an internal meeting, he explained that Apple does not deliver “technology for technology’s sake”. Tim Cook, for his part, promised on August 1, 2025, a total commitment: “Apple has to do it. Apple will do it.” The new CEO’s first memo to employees also announced a large-scale launch, without further details.

Asked about conversational agents that could one day replace apps, the person in question defended the in-house model: “product creation is a deeply human and personal endeavor”. Apple intends to “fully leverage AI”, to the point that “people will not have to wonder whether it was AI that made that possible or more traditional software”. In this vision, successful AI resembles keyboard autocorrect: invisible as long as it works, noticed only when it makes a mistake.

A calm that France watches from afar

Unveiled at WWDC on June 9, the new AI-powered Siri has been rolling out since September 14 as part of iOS 27, in beta and in English only.Initially promised for 2024 and then officially postponed to spring 2025, the overhaul should enable the assistant to understand the user’s personal context, act within apps, and take into account what is displayed on the screen. iPhones and iPads in the European Union have been denied these capabilities since day one, based on an interpretation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that the company deems “extreme”. Opening these capabilities to competing assistants would, in its view, expose user data without adequate safeguards.

The company says it proposed to the European Commission a control mechanism called “Trusted System Agent,” with a phased rollout over 18 months, but failed to convince the Commission. By contrast, the Mac and Vision Pro do have access in the EU, indicating that the block is due to iOS’s status under EU regulations rather than the technology itself.

The iOS 27.2 update, released on October 26, added French-language support to the assistant while keeping the lock in place for France on iPhone. There is officially no timeline for iOS and iPadOS in the EU, with the company merely saying it “hopes” to bring Siri AI there one day. An unofficial date, no earlier than March 2027, is circulating, but no official announcement currently supports it.

👉🏻 Follow tech news in real time: add 01net to your sources on Google, and subscribe to our WhatsApp channel.

Source: Wired