Apple Inc.(AAPL.US) releases iOS 27! New Siri AI opens for testing, cloud features set with daily limits, future paid expansion available.

Apple Inc.(AAPL.US) officially released its next-generation iPhone operating system, iOS 27, on Monday, with the most closely watched update being the redesigned Siri AI personal assistant. The system update arrives just before the new iPhone models go on sale this week, marking the long-delayed Siri artificial intelligence upgrade finally beginning to reach users. Apple Inc. said the new Siri AI is still in testing, and users need to actively opt in through the Settings app. Due to limited initial service capacity, some users may need to join a waitlist before gaining access. Apple Inc. is positioning the upcoming iPhone 18 series as a key device for running artificial intelligence features. On one hand, the new iPhones are equipped with more powerful chips; on the other, the phones store large amounts of personal data such as calendars and text messages, enabling Apple Inc. to build a differentiated "personalized AI" experience compared with other artificial intelligence companies. Apple Inc. CEO Ternus said at last week's iPhone launch event: "This is truly personal intelligence for the individual." This was Ternus's first time hosting an iPhone launch event since succeeding Cook as Apple Inc. CEO on September 1. He said the iPhone sits at the center of Apple Inc.'s intelligent ecosystem, allowing a range of smart features and experiences to work seamlessly across the different Apple Inc. devices users use daily. Long-Delayed Siri AI Finally Arrives Apple Inc. first unveiled the new Siri AI assistant in June this year. In fact, the company had announced an AI-powered next-generation Siri as early as 2024, but the related features were subsequently delayed, and it was not until this year that the redesigned version arrived. Unlike companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Alphabet Inc. Class C(GOOGL.US) that pursue larger-scale frontier AI models, Apple Inc. has taken a relatively different technological path. The company mainly develops smaller AI models that can run directly on iPhone and Mac chips, hoping to complete AI computing on local devices as much as possible. However, for more complex Siri AI requests, Apple Inc. still needs to rely on cloud computing power. The company has built a private cloud computing system called "Private Cloud Compute" for this purpose, using Alphabet Inc. Class C cloud infrastructure and employing NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) and Intel Corporation(INTC.US) chips. At the same time, Apple Inc. is also using Alphabet Inc. Class C Gemini technology to help develop its own AI models. This means that while emphasizing proprietary AI technology and privacy protection, Apple Inc. is still leveraging external partners such as Alphabet Inc. Class C to accelerate its artificial intelligence capabilities. Some AI Features to Have Daily Usage Limits, Paid Tiers May Come in Future Notably, as more AI computing shifts to the cloud, Apple Inc. has also begun considering the cost of artificial intelligence services. Apple Inc. said some Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features that require cloud servers will have daily usage limits. In the future, if users want higher usage quotas, they may need to pay extra. Apple Inc. said in its announcement that daily usage limits may vary depending on the specific feature, request complexity, system requirements, system policies and other factors. The company also said higher usage quotas "will be available for purchase in the future." This arrangement means Apple Inc.'s AI services may no longer rely entirely on hardware sales for monetization in the future. As cloud AI computing demand grows, Apple Inc. is expected to gradually explore paid models for high-frequency or high-computing-power AI users, thereby establishing a new service revenue stream for Apple Intelligence. Siri Becomes More "Conversational," Can Search Texts, Emails and Calendars In terms of functionality, one of the biggest changes to the new Siri is its use of large language models to understand and search personal data stored on users' local devices, including text messages, emails and calendar schedules. For example, users can ask Siri to find an address, recipe or operating instructions from past messages, without having to search through information item by item themselves. In addition to handling personal data, the new Siri can also answer general questions and search the internet. Apple Inc. has also launched a standalone Siri app that can save questions users have previously asked. Compared with the old Siri, the new Siri allows users to follow up on answers given by the assistant, making the entire interaction process closer to the multi-turn dialogue experience of current mainstream AI chat assistants. This is also one of the cores of Apple Inc.'s attempt to create a differentiated AI experience. Rather than simply providing general knowledge Q&A, the company hopes to use the personal data held by the iPhone and Apple Inc.'s device ecosystem to enable Siri to understand information related to users' personal lives, thereby enhancing the usefulness of the AI assistant. Initially English Only, French, Japanese and Others to Launch Next Month The new Siri AI currently supports English first. Apple Inc. said support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish will be launched next month. For Apple Inc., whether the new Siri can win user recognition will become an important test of its AI strategy. Over the past few years, companies such as OpenAI, Alphabet Inc. Class C and Anthropic have rapidly promoted the adoption of generative AI products, while Apple Inc. has been relatively slow in launching artificial intelligence products, and the previously announced Siri AI upgrade also experienced delays. Now, with the launch of iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 series, Apple Inc. is embedding AI more deeply into its hardware and operating system ecosystem. Rather than directly competing with rivals over the largest-scale AI models, Apple Inc. is betting on the combination of on-device computing power, personal data and a cross-device ecosystem. Whether the new Siri can truly become the main entry point for users' daily AI use will also become a key focus for the market in assessing whether Apple Inc. can narrow the gap with other AI giants.