Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

iOS 11’s big feature could be a massive Siri upgrade

Published Mar 28th, 2017 5:44PM EDT
iOS 11 Rumors Siri in iMessage and iCloud
Image: Gabor Balogh

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

While there’s an abundance of iPhone 8 rumors to check out on a regular basis, we don’t see that many iOS 11 leaks. It’s surprising, given that iOS represents one of the most important features of the iPhone and a reason why many people would not leave Apple’s platform for any competing mobile operating system. A new report out of Israel brings says that Siri will get a massive upgrade in iOS 11, revealing some of the new purported features of Apple’s smarter virtual assistant.

According to The Verifier, Siri will gain more powers on all of Apple’s devices, including iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. The most important features, if the report is accurate, seem to be Siri integration in iMessage and iCloud.

Siri in iMessage would probably work very similarly to what Google’s Assistant inside Google Allo. The assistant would be ready to offer context-based suggestions, like where to go to dinner and how to get there. Apple already has a patent detailing such a feature.

The iCloud integration would allow Siri to identify the user’s various devices that might be associated with an Apple ID, and offer actions and responses across operating systems, including Mac and iPhone.

Siri would reportedly learn more details about the user’s habits, and offer different actions based on the context, not just in iMessage, the report indicates. The report says Siri will be comparable to Bixby when it comes to feature, which is Samsung’s recently introduced voice-based assistant. Bixby, however, is yet to prove itself as it’ll only launch in limited form with the Galaxy S8.

Considering that everyone is beefing up their virtual assistants, it’s likely Apple will upgrade Siri in iOS 11, even though there’s no way of verifying The Verifier’s interesting claims at this point.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.