Apple is doubling down on Siri. The Cupertino giant is expected to unveil a Google Gemini-powered Siri later this year. Ahead of this release, the company is reportedly sending a group of Siri engineers to an AI coding bootcamp, potentially to improve their skills with AI tools at a time when Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex are gaining popularity.
As per a report from The Information, Apple is sending just under 200 engineers who are currently working on Siri to the bootcamp. The report states that the Siri team has a “reputation as a laggard inside Apple.”
Though, there are still plenty of engineers working on Siri. According to the report, around 60 members will continue development work on Siri, with an additional 60 tasked with evaluating Siri’s performance. This includes ensuring that Siri meets Apple’s safety standards and effectively processes user commands.
Is Apple joining the vibecoding trend?
Many tech companies are going all-in on AI. Be it Google, Microsoft, or Meta, almost every company is pushing its workers to use tools like Claude Code and Codex. The report states that Apple too is pushing for more AI to write code. Some teams at Cupertino have allocated big portions of their budgets to Claude Code. However, the Siri team is reportedly not taking “full advantage” of these coding tools.
The AI coding bootcamp may be a way for Apple to push the “laggard” team to use more AI at work before the major Siri overhaul.
Apple’s AI strategy has undergone significant changes following the inability of the Siri team to deliver on the promised Apple Intelligence version of Siri for iOS 18. This led to a major organisational reshuffle. With former AI chief John Giannandrea set to retire this week.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s software engineering chief, now oversees AI development, and Mike Rockwell, known for his work on the Vision Pro, leads the Siri team.
New Siri, here is what we know
Apple is expected to take wraps off the new version of Siri at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June this year. The company has signed a deal with Google to power Siri using Gemini’s AI models.
We expect to see the first glimpse of the Gemini-powered Siri at WWDC. The new virtual assistant will likely come with more features, including the ability to solve complex queries by itself, instead of the current system where it asks ChatGPT.
Though do note that the overhauled Siri will likely only be available on your iPhone with the release of iOS 27. iOS 27 is expected to be launched in September this year alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and the iPhone fold.
