Ever since I started using Google Gemini more than a year ago, it’s transformed the way I use some of the best Android phones on the market. But now that Apple is finally stepping up in the AI wars with its revamped Siri AI in iOS 27, it’s moving past an outdated experience to give us something truly intelligent — an assistant that doesn’t just listen, but actually understands.
I’ve been using the iOS 27 developer beta for a week now, which grants access to a beta version of Siri AI. Because I test many of the best phones for a living, my expectations for this upgraded AI chatbot are naturally high after spending so much time with rivals like ChatGPT and Gemini.
Obviously, there’s still a long way to go before Siri AI is polished enough for the masses — but I can already tell you that the outlook is bright for iPhone users. Here’s why.
On-screen contextual awareness: It’s a smart step forward
This is easily the first thing I noticed when I started using Siri AI on my iPhone 17 Pro. No matter what I’m doing, it feels like it's aware of what’s on my screen and tries to create actionable tasks based on it. I say "tries" because it’s not always spot on.
For example, it will suggest creating a reminder inside Messages, but when I select it, I’m still required to manually input all the details. For a supposedly advanced AI, I would think it’d be smart enough to handle the typing for me — but it isn’t, at least not in this beta.
Despite this limitation, there are other areas where Siri AI is incredibly helpful. When I’m going through emails in either the native Mail app or Gmail, I can lean on Siri AI to quickly create calendar events. It works just like Gemini, analyzing the email’s content and pulling all the pertinent information straight into the calendar invite.
It's a similar story when using the updated Camera app in iOS 27, which combines Visual Intelligence with Siri AI to give me details about whatever I'm pointing my lens at — whether it's an unfamiliar weed in my backyard or the specific type of fuel required for the car I'm testing. While it’s great at serving up relevant information, it still lacks the fluid, continuous conversational experience I get with Gemini Live or Meta AI. And it stumbles a lot with follow up questions, but I can't stress enough how it's in beta.
Dedicated Siri app keeps my requests contained
Apple has introduced a dedicated Siri app that acts as a hub to organize all of my past requests, ongoing AI tasks, and contextual history. It’s a clean, well-designed space that lets me easily jump back into a previous request to follow up on a project.
For everyday tasks, like checking my grammar or researching a topic deeper, I’ve found it pretty reliable. In one instance, I asked Siri AI to scan one of my electric car reviews on the site to pull efficiency results for a specific model — the 2026 Audi RS e-tron GT — and compare it to the Lucid Air Touring I also tested. To my amazement, it handled all the research flawlessly with accurate results, saving me a tremendous amount of time I'd otherwise spend manually pulling up the pages in Safari.
However, the gap widens when you push the app's creative boundaries. I’m big on using AI chatbots for photo editing, specifically for removing backgrounds or requesting complex generative edits. I gave Siri AI a photo of the Subaru Trailseeker and asked it to change the background to a beach setting, but it couldn’t execute the request — nor could it handle basic photo adjustments within the Siri app interface.
By contrast, with the Gemini app on my iPhone, I can upload a PDF of a car’s monroney window sticker and ask it to instantly generate a clean infographic summarizing the specs and pricing. While Gemini continues to impress me with what it delivers, the same request to Siri AI hit a brick wall, with the assistant simply unable do it. These are the kinds of missing capabilities that keep me tethered to third-party tools like Gemini, and it's something Apple desperately needs to address down the road.
Task automation is still restricted to native apps
If there’s one feature that truly proves how far mobile intelligence has come over the last few years, it’s Gemini’s task automation — which, in my opinion, remains the absolute gold standard. To put it into perspective: I recently used my Galaxy S26 to ask Gemini to order me a coffee and a donut from Dunkin’ via DoorDash. With a single voice command, the assistant handled the entire checkout process for me — though it did take over two minutes to execute.
Naturally, I wanted to put Siri AI to the exact same test on my iPhone, but it failed to deliver. This level of cross-app execution simply isn't possible right now, largely because third-party developers have yet to build out the necessary integrations to let Siri take the wheel. For the time being, Siri AI’s automation capabilities are strictly confined to Apple's native apps, which acts as a massive handicap for the revamped assistant.
Then again, this limitation isn't entirely surprising. When Samsung debuted its Cross App Actions with the Galaxy S25 last year, it was similarly restricted to native applications out of the gate. While it’s understandable that Siri AI is trapped in the same early-stage predicament, the bar has already been set by Google. Apple simply cannot afford to trail the competition for long.
Outlook
Ultimately, my week’s worth of using Siri AI proves that Apple has built a solid foundation. The contextual awareness is a massive leap forward compared to old Siri, and the system-wide integration feels incredibly polished. But as it stands today, it’s simply nowhere near as robust, versatile, or capable as Google Gemini.
Being in beta clearly emphasizes how a lot can change with the experience as developers get their hands on Siri AI integration. This is a promising start to a new era for Apple, but if you’re looking for a true powerhouse AI assistant to revolutionize your entire digital workflow, I don’t think you'll be abandoning Gemini just yet.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Alternatively, you can read our content on the Tom's Guide app available now for iOS and Android. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. Finally, you can visit our dedicated Tom's Guide Savings Squad hub for expert help on getting the best products for less.
More from Tom's Guide
- I pitted iOS 27 Clean Up vs Galaxy AI in a 7-round eraser showdown — Apple makes it close, but here's where it stumbles
- I just tested the phone everybody thinks is a preview of the iPhone Fold — God, I hope they’re wrong
- Siri AI will shoot down any attempts to try and date it — but other chatbots aren't always so forthright
