iOS 27 Siri AI review: Why Apple’s upgraded assistant still struggles

After eagerly updating my iPhone 16e to iOS 27, my excitement over the new Siri AI was short-lived. As a tech enthusiast, I had high hopes for Apple's latest offering, which the company has been aggressively promoting as part of its "Apple Intelligence" initiative. Ironically, Apple's insistence on using the term "Siri AI" rather than "Siri" feels like a deliberate attempt to position its creation as superior to competitors, but that's beside the point.

The main reason for the update was to experience Siri's purportedly enhanced capabilities, a stark departure from its previous iteration, which seemed limited to basic tasks like setting timers.

Upon installing the update, I immediately put Siri to the test. I knew my photo library contained clear images of my two dogs, Bowie and Twyla, and I asked Siri to retrieve videos of Twyla. Unfortunately, this was a fruitless endeavor. After multiple attempts, the AI consistently misunderstood my query and offered to play Twilight movie trailers instead.

This recurring issue persisted across at least four separate attempts, leading to a frustrating experience. Despite my extensive testing, I have yet to explore all of Siri's features, but this initial impression is overwhelmingly disappointing. In my opinion, the upgraded Siri AI still falls short of expectations.