iOS 27 Public Beta Debuts Siri AI Built on Google’s Gemini

Apple started rolling out the iOS 27 public beta on July 13, giving iPhone owners their first real look at Siri AI, the assistant it promised back in 2024. The free beta, available through the Apple Beta Software Program, previews the software expected to ship with the iPhone 18 Pro this September.

The fix did not come cheap, and it did not come from Cupertino alone. Siri AI’s hardest questions now run on a custom Google Gemini model, one Apple is reportedly paying roughly $1 billion a year to license. The same assistant is currently barred from iPhones and iPads across the European Union.

The Beta Lands Right on Schedule

Three developer betas shipped this summer on a strict two week rhythm: June 8, June 22 and July 6. The public build followed within days, a smoother pace than last year, when Liquid Glass instability pushed the first iOS 26 public beta to July 24, 2025.

Forbes reported that Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has tracked the builds closely, called this cycle’s focus on reliability “Snow Leopard-like,” a nod to the stability-first Mac release from over a decade ago. The public beta runs on any iPhone already compatible with iOS 26, meaning the iPhone 11 and every model since, plus the iPhone SE from its second generation onward.

Installing it does not require a developer account. The steps are simple.

• Sign up for free at the Apple Beta Software Program using the Apple Account linked to the iPhone.
• Back up the iPhone to iCloud or a computer first, since beta software can bring bugs and battery drain.
• Open Settings, then General, then Software Update, then Beta Updates.
• Select iOS 27 Public Beta and tap Update Now once it appears.

Apple still recommends installing test software on a secondary device rather than a primary iPhone, even though this year’s builds have held up well enough that some testers are running them daily.

Apple Is Paying Google to Make Siri Work

The headline rebuild did not happen entirely inside Apple’s own walls. Bloomberg reports that Apple licensed a custom Gemini model, roughly 1.2 trillion parameters in size, to power Siri AI’s cloud based requests, at a cost of about $1 billion a year. Apple has not confirmed that figure.

It is a striking reversal for a company that spent two decades building Siri in house and marketing privacy as a selling point over rivals. The switch follows a $250 million settlement over delayed Siri AI features tied to the iPhone 16, a gap that left the assistant looking outdated next to ChatGPT and Gemini for nearly two years. Apple’s own WWDC keynote, examined in a separate look at the Google-powered Siri strategy behind the reveal, framed the partnership as the fastest route to catching up.

Simpler requests still run on Apple’s own hardware. According to Tech Times, the on device model behind Siri AI uses roughly 3 billion parameters, compressed through 2 bit quantization and a memory sharing technique, and still needs 8GB of unified memory to run on a phone’s Neural Engine. That is reportedly why the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, both built with 6GB of RAM, cannot run the full feature.

What Does Siri AI Do Now?

Siri AI can hold a running conversation and search Mail, Messages, Notes, Reminders and Calendar for details a user only half remembers. It can act on whatever is on screen and complete multi step tasks inside apps, all from a dedicated Siri app that syncs history across iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Gurman tested it across iPhone, iPad and Mac for Bloomberg and came back with a working list. He asked Siri to move a calendar appointment by naming the person he was meeting, rename the event, and swap a dial in number for a physical address, and it worked.

He also pulled a TV recommendation a family member had mentioned weeks earlier out of old messages, and had Siri read an email inside a third party app before turning it into a calendar entry.

Apple’s own product page says the assistant can locate a years-old photo or a buried email just by asking, and take action inside apps like Messages, Music and Reminders based on what a person is already doing. The latest beta added something new, too: Siri AI can now pull data from a handful of outside apps, starting with Tesla and Ford, so a driver can ask about battery level without opening either automaker’s app.

Apple also added controls for Siri’s pace and expressivity under Settings, Siri, Voice, and those same settings now shape spoken directions inside Maps and Safari.

Apple built a separate system, called Extensions, that flips the whole arrangement around.

• Extensions – the iOS 27 framework letting a user designate Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok as the system level AI behind Siri, Writing Tools and Image Playground, with each provider’s own privacy policy governing whatever data gets routed to it.

Apple plans a software development kit (SDK) so any App Store distributed AI service can eventually join that list.

Brussels Says No, For Now

None of this reaches iPhones or iPads inside the European Union when iOS 27 ships. Apple confirmed in a newsroom post that Siri AI will launch everywhere except the EU’s 27 member states, with no timeline for when that changes.

We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said that in the company’s statement, adding that Apple hopes to eventually find a path forward with regulators.

Apple’s position rests on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU law requiring dominant platforms to open their systems to rivals. Apple argues full compliance would force it to give rival assistants the same access to messages, files and installed apps that Siri AI has. It says that access would come without the safeguards built into its own system.

Apple proposed an intermediary it called a Trusted System Agent to manage that access safely; the European Commission rejected it. Thomas Regnier, a Commission spokesperson, put the responsibility back on Apple.

“The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only,” Regnier said, arguing Apple sought an exemption instead of building a compliant solution.

Apple already opened Siri to those same rivals through its own decision to open Siri to outside AI rivals everywhere outside the EU, a choice it made voluntarily. Mac and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU get Siri AI regardless, since the DMA’s toughest rules apply specifically to iOS and iPadOS.

iOS 27 Also Promises a Faster iPhone

Apple is leaning on more than artificial intelligence to sell this update. A rebuilt CPU scheduler reaches all the way back to the iPhone 11, with Apple promising system wide speed gains across launches, photo capture and file transfers.

• 30% faster app launches on every supported iPhone, system wide.
• 70% faster photo appearance in the library right after a picture is taken.
• 80% faster AirDrop transfers between two nearby devices.
• 1.2 billion Siri queries Apple Intelligence already handles daily across roughly 940 million active devices, per an analysis cited by Gadget Hacks, a scale the Gemini partnership now has to carry.

Photos adds three editing tools built on the same models: Clean Up for removing larger distractions from a frame, Extend for generating image content beyond the original edges, and Spatial Reframing for adjusting the apparent camera angle after a shot is already taken.

Safari can sort tabs by topic, group bookmarks and Reading List items on its own, and build a browser extension from a plain language description. The Passwords app now replaces weak or reused passwords automatically, and Shortcuts can build an automation from a typed request instead of a manual flowchart.

Screen Time gets its biggest overhaul in years. A redesigned dashboard gives parents visibility into which apps and websites a child is actually using, with new Time Allowances that cap categories like games or social media on separate schedules. Communication Safety, which already screened for nudity in Messages and FaceTime, now filters graphic violence too.

AirPods get a proper equalizer for lows, mids and highs. The iPhone can also set alarm volume separately from system volume, years after Android added the option.

Which iPhone Gets Which Features

Not every eligible iPhone gets the same iOS 27. Compatibility splits into three rough tiers.

Everyone outside the EU gets Siri AI for free once their device qualifies. There is no subscription requirement, though Apple’s heavier image generation tools inside Apple Intelligence carry daily usage limits that an iCloud+ subscription can raise.

September Is Already on the Calendar

Reactions to the beta are mixed but leaning positive. One reader on MacRumors’s Siri AI guide dismissed the whole effort: “Apple needs to just kill Siri and start fresh.” Another pushed back just as hard, calling the rebuilt assistant “leaps and bounds ahead of the old one in every aspect.”

Early hands-on coverage lands in between. RedShark News compared the new assistant to where ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini stood roughly six months ago, useful and finally competitive, if no longer remarkable by 2026 standards.

None of that changes the calendar. Forbes projects Apple’s September keynote for Wednesday, September 9, with pre orders opening September 11, the general iOS 27 release landing September 14, and the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max going on sale September 18. Bloomberg’s Gurman has floated September 8 instead, a one day gap that will only resolve once invitations go out.

The new hardware will not be cheap. JPMorgan analysts, per Technobezz, expect the iPhone 18 Pro’s price to rise by at least $100, with some estimates reaching $200, as TSMC raises chip prices between 5% and 10% across its most advanced nodes. Apple’s first foldable iPhone is expected to join the lineup around $1,999.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Siri AI in iOS 27?

Siri AI is Apple’s rebuilt assistant, first promised in 2024 and delivered this year. It runs on a custom Google Gemini model for complex cloud based requests and Apple’s own on device model for simpler ones, and it now lives inside its own dedicated Siri app with history synced through iCloud.

Which iPhones can run Siri AI in the public beta?

Any iPhone 15 Pro or newer supports core Siri AI once iOS 27 is installed, while the deepest on device capabilities are reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air. Older models back to the iPhone 11 can install iOS 27 itself, but the Siri AI option simply will not appear in Settings on unsupported hardware.

Why isn’t Siri AI coming to the EU?

Apple says the Digital Markets Act would force it to give rival AI assistants the same unrestricted access to personal data that Siri AI has, without adequate safeguards, and that regulators rejected its proposed compromise. The dispute has drawn real public backlash: the Financial Times reported that EU officials received hundreds of emails from consumers upset about losing access. Siri AI still works in the EU on Mac and Apple Vision Pro.

Is it safe to install the iOS 27 public beta on my main iPhone?

Apple advises against it. The public beta is more stable than a developer build but can still bring battery drain, app crashes and compatibility issues with apps that have not updated yet. Apple encourages testers to report problems through its Feedback app so issues get fixed before the September release.

When does iOS 27 launch for everyone?

Apple has not confirmed an exact date, but reporting points to a general release around September 14, arriving after a keynote expected September 8 or 9 that will also introduce the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. That is the point non beta users get the update automatically through a standard software update, without enrolling in any beta program at all.

Does Siri AI cost extra to use?

Siri AI itself is free with a compatible iPhone, no subscription required. But routing system wide requests to a rival through Extensions carries that provider’s own pricing. Choosing ChatGPT or Claude as the default assistant still runs into whatever paywall that company sets for its heaviest features.