I Tested the New Siri AI for a Week – It’s Excellent
▼ Summary
– Joanna Stern tested iOS 27’s new Siri for a week and declared it “good-good,” praising Apple for rebuilding its foundation.
– Siri’s new ‘Personal context’ feature uses on-device data from apps like Messages to give highly personalized responses, such as suggesting souvenirs based on knowledge of the user’s children.
– Siri AI demonstrated the ability to pull data from calendar, Messages, and voicemail to provide tailored daily work suggestions.
– Stern tested Siri’s guardrails for medical advice and romantic inquiries, noted mistakes it still makes, and compared its performance on tasks old Siri handled well.
– Stern highlighted that AI’s effectiveness depends on data, and Apple has extensive user data, even prompting her to consider switching to Apple Mail.
After years of waiting and countless missed deadlines, the new Siri AI in iOS 27 is finally delivering on its promise. Former Wall Street Journal columnist Joanna Stern put the assistant through its paces for a full week, and her verdict is clear: Siri is now genuinely good.
In a detailed hands-on video, Stern explores both the triumphs and the remaining flaws of the revamped assistant. She didn’t hold back on social media, declaring on X that Siri is “good-good,” a striking turnaround from the feature’s long history of underperformance. The key to this transformation? Apple has rebuilt the underlying architecture, and the result is a personalized AI that finally leverages the vast amount of data already sitting on your device.
The most compelling demonstrations in Stern’s review revolve around Siri’s new ‘Personal context’ capabilities. During a trip to the beach, she asked for souvenir ideas for her children based on what Siri “knows” about them. The assistant’s spot-on reply, drawn from information in the Messages app, left Stern visibly impressed. In another test, Siri pulled data from her calendar, messages, and even a voicemail to suggest a productive daily agenda. These moments highlight a core truth: AI is only as powerful as the data it can access, and Apple has access to an enormous amount of it. Stern even admitted she is considering switching to Apple Mail because of this integration.
The video also covers critical areas beyond simple convenience. Stern tested Siri’s new safety guardrails, asking for medical advice and even attempting to engage the assistant romantically. She also documents the mistakes Siri still makes and how it handles the basic tasks its predecessor handled well.
For anyone curious about a sneak peek at the future of Apple’s assistant, Stern’s full video is well worth watching. Are you testing the iOS 27 beta? Share your own experience with the new Siri AI in the comments.
(Source: 9to5Mac)
