Apple introduced iOS 27 and with it a brand new AI! But in the Czech Republic, we'll have to miss out on it for now

Apple’s developer conference is usually a showcase of big promises. This year’s WWDC 2026, however, felt more like paying off an old debt. Apple finally showed Siri, which it announced back in 2024 and originally wanted to cram into iOS 18. The fact that it arrived two years late and with significant help from Google is a story in itself. And to that, an unpleasant surprise is added: only owners of the most expensive phones will enjoy the best of the new artificial intelligence.

Siri, which Apple promised two years ago

Mike Rockwell, VP of Siri development, introduced the new Siri, starting with its design. The colorful light edge of the screen disappears and is replaced by an interface built on the Dynamic Island with a dark theme. You can summon the assistant by swiping down from the island at the top, or by other proven methods. Siri now gets its own app, understands on-screen context, and knows your contacts without you having to name them in every command. The “Write with Siri” option has been added, along with adjustable pace and voice expressiveness, and integration with CarPlay and AirPods is a given.

If that sounds familiar, you’re right — this is exactly what Apple demonstrated on stage back in 2024. What’s more, the features will launch in English only first, with other languages gradually being added. And two big “buts” for us: the new Siri will not arrive in the European Union or China yet. Given that Apple Intelligence still doesn’t speak Czech, this is another reason for domestic customers to keep their feet on the ground.

Under the Hood, Competition Helps Out

The whole thing is powered by the second generation of an on-device model, supplemented by broader world knowledge and so-called in-app actions. Search draws from Spotlight’s semantic index. More interesting, however, is the partnership Apple has admitted: Google’s Gemini is assisting in the background. A company that for years built its marketing on privacy and proprietary solutions is thus reaching for foreign artificial intelligence for its most visible product of the year. Siri conversations are supposed to be privately synchronized across devices via iCloud.

The Best AI? Only for Owners of the Most Expensive iPhones

And now for the unpleasant part. While most new features will run on older hardware, the most powerful on-device model has surprisingly tough requirements. You need an iPhone 17 Pro, or iPhone Air, or an iPad with an M4 chip and a Mac with an M3 — always with at least 12 GB of RAM. Until now, Apple Intelligence was content with 8 GB.

The biggest shock is that even the basic iPhone 17 has been dropped from the list — it only has 8 GB of RAM. Owners of unsupported models will still get access to the features, but they will run via Private Cloud Compute, meaning slower and with data center latency. In other words: if you want the fastest, prepare to pay for the top-tier device. Some features will also have daily limits, which only iCloud+ subscribers can increase.

iOS 27 as a Celebration of Speed

If AI leaves you cold, something else might interest you. iOS 27 is primarily about performance and bug fixes. Apple promises up to 30% faster app launches, 70% quicker loading of new photos in Photos, and 80% faster AirDrop. A new CPU load scheduler is intended to improve fluidity on older phones. The system will run on all iPhones that supported iOS 26 — meaning from iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2nd generation upwards.

The visual aspect is refined by the Liquid Glass design language. It gets a transparency slider, allowing you to adjust the glass effect from subtly tinted to transparent. Apple has also redrawn the icons to appear sharper and separated their individual layers — a response to last year’s complaints that they looked blurry.

Artificial Intelligence Spreads into Apps

AI also permeates individual applications. Photos improves the Clean Up tool for removing objects from complex scenes and adds two new features: Extend generates images beyond the edges of the shot, and Reframe can change the angle of view or zoom out, albeit at the cost of cloud processing. They also work with photos from other cameras, not just iPhones.

The Passwords app gets an agent function that can automatically change compromised login credentials for you. Safari now sorts tabs by topic and monitors changes on websites. Messages, Mail, and Calendar offer contextual suggestions, and Calendar accepts events entered in natural language. A small detail that will please across platforms: shared albums on iCloud finally support sharing with Android and Windows devices.

The developer beta of iOS 27 is released today, the public beta next month, and the stable version will arrive in September. The new Siri will only be available in the beta sometime during the autumn.

Are you tempted by the redesigned Siri, or are you already cautious about Apple’s promises?

Source: 9to5Mac, Apple