Siri AI in iOS 27 ist oft noch versteckt und nicht automatisch aktiv

Have iOS 27 and think you're using Siri AI? You might not be. Here's how to check, unlock access, and discover what Apple's upgraded assistant can actually do differently.

Read full bio October 15, 2026, 10:00 pm ET

Apple’s hype machine has been telling us that the product it calls “Siri AI” is more helpful and intelligent than ever. So, a few weeks ago, I updated my iPhone 16 Pro Max to iOS 27, mostly because I wanted to try out the new Siri.

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After updating to iOS 27 (I’m running 27.0.1), Siri has pretty much been the same old Siri. Sure, my phone glowed all around the screen when I made a Siri request. But I didn’t see any improvement in the quality of its responses. As best as I could tell, the new Siri AI was a swing and a miss.

But here’s the hidden secret: I wasn’t running Siri AI on iOS 27. And you’re probably not.

This morning, I wanted to update my phone’s wallpaper with yet another unbearably cute picture of my very good boy, Pixel. Running on just half a cup of coffee, I accidentally tapped “Siri” in my iPhone settings instead of “Wallpaper.”

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I haven’t had much reason to visit the Siri setting, but that’s where I’m pointing you. And today, I noticed this.

So, although a big part of Apple’s iOS 27 hype centered on Siri, it isn’t fully baked and wasn’t installed on my machine. Go ahead and check your Siri settings. Are you running Siri AI? Let us know in the comments below.

I got dropped into a little waitlist dance. The button didn’t say “Click to join waitlist.” It said, “Try Siri”. But still, I jumped through the hoops.

I wasn’t thrilled signing off to “Help improve foundation models and Siri by allowing Apple to collect and use your text and audio interactions with Siri, Dictation, and Translate.”

But heck, I’m using ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Gemini. Plus, I’ve lived my life on the internet. It’s not like my bytes aren’t mostly public anyway. Plus, Apple’s far less data-predatory than Google, and I run all my email through Gmail. So, fine. I said, “Yes.”

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Then, figuring I wouldn’t see access anytime soon, I got myself that second cup of coffee my soul craved so viscerally.

I had left my phone on, still open to the Siri screen sitting next to my computer. By the time I got back with the sacred brew, I saw this.

Hmm… That was quick. It took all of 11 minutes.

Well, here’s a bit of a bummer. Instead of the pretty glow all around the phone, now when you say “Hey Siri,” you get a bubble that looks more like time-travel distortion than an indicator that a helpful assistant is waiting for input. But, heck, one doesn’t question Apple’s design decisions, does one?

In any case, the real question is whether Siri AI is any better? And yeah, it is. Mostly.

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Having just finished watching the fourth season of Ted Lasso (which I really enjoyed), I asked, “Is there going to be a Season 5 of Ted Lasso?” Old Siri (on the left) didn’t seem to even know about Season 4 (which ran on, wait for it, Apple TV+ ). But Siri AI did, and it was correct about the currently known status.

Apparently, Siri AI has a long way to go to achieve sentience. When I asked Old Siri, “What devices are connected to this phone’s Bluetooth?” I was given the Bluetooth toggle. When I asked Siri AI the same question, it told me it couldn’t get Apple TV’s status. So, yeah.

But then the AI redeemed itself with the last two answers.

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When I asked Old Siri, “What’s the difference between VA and Watts?” it just plain didn’t understand and sent me to ChatGPT. The new Siri AI answered and gave me a short but accurate answer.

Finally, I gave Siri AI a typical tech-related question, like I ask Gemini or ChatGPT. In this case, it was this scintillating piece of prose.

In tree structures where the root is at the top or outlines, let’s discuss terms for the children and siblings of a parent. The siblings could be called a list and the children could also be called subordinates. What are other terms the immediately lower set of branches of a node can be called?

Old Siri interrupted me after the first sentence and gave me a useless, misinterpreted answer. New Siri AI listened to the whole prompt and gave me another short but accurate answer.

So, if Siri still sucks for you and you’re running iOS 27, you might not actually be using Siri AI. Go ahead and click Settings > Siri and request the beta.

The internet suggests users get beta access within anywhere from 15 minutes to four days. I got mine within a few minutes, so it’s certainly worth the click.

While Siri still can’t do some on-phone things I’d like (like listing my Bluetooth-connected devices), it’s clearly better at other queries.

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