Apple working on its biggest iOS update ever which will include an AI-enhanced Siri

Apple is preparing its biggest iOS software update in the history of the iPhone with an AI-enhanced Siri and higher quality cross platform messaging.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s upcoming iOS 18 – usually unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference in early June – will be “one of the biggest iOS updates, if not the biggest, in the company’s history,” Gurman wrote in the Q&A section of the Power On newsletter.

The biggest updates will be a much smarter Siri personal assistant that will reportedly be powered by generative AI alongside RCS (rich communication services) messaging for an improved messaging experience between iPhone and Android users.

Apple is reportedly incorporating larger language models into Siri so it can perform more complex tasks.

Bloomberg’s Gurman said Apple had been “caught off guard” in the Power On newsletter by the surge in AI interest across the industry despite Apple CEO Tim Cook saying the company had been working on generative AI technology for years.

Gurman says Apple had been “scrambling since late last year (2022) to make up for lost time”.

And Apple is facing challenges not only on the smartphone side from Samsung but also from the computer side from Microsoft as well

In the last six months we have seen Microsoft make significant advances with AI with its new built Copilot as part of Windows 11.

And more recently Samsung has stunned the smartphone market with the Galaxy AI aboard its new Galaxy S24 range of devices.

There are huge expectations from Apple ahead of the 2024 WWDC with AI to play a major part in the updates not only for iOS and iPadOS but macOS as well.

The other major improvement for iOS 18 will be through RCS messaging which will offer equal quality messaging whether it’s iPhone to iPhone or between iPhones and Android smartphones.

RCS will enable higher quality images and videos to be shared between iPhone and Android users along with read receipts and typing indicators.

With the expected adoption of RCS in iOS 18 that will also enable Wi-Fi messaging between iPhones and Android devices as well as improved encryption.