Apple is expected to place privacy protections at the center of its upcoming Siri relaunch during the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June, as the iPhone maker attempts to strengthen its position in the increasingly competitive artificial intelligence market.
According to reporting from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple executives are preparing to present Siri as a more privacy-focused AI assistant compared to rival chatbot platforms.
The updated Siri platform is widely viewed as Apple’s major attempt to reestablish itself in AI as companies across the technology industry continue expanding generative AI products and assistant tools.
Apple Reportedly Developing Standalone Siri App
As part of the relaunch, Apple is reportedly planning to introduce the first standalone Siri application.
The new version of Siri is expected to use Google Gemini models and provide a conversational chatbot experience similar to platforms such as ChatGPT.
However, the report said Apple intends to distinguish Siri from competing AI products by limiting how long user data can be retained and processed.
One example mentioned by Gurman involves conversation retention controls similar to settings already available in Apple’s Messages application. Users could reportedly choose to automatically delete Siri conversations after 30 days or one year, or alternatively store them indefinitely.
Privacy Messaging May Address Competitive Concerns
Gurman also suggested that Apple’s focus on privacy could partly reflect an effort to address concerns about Siri’s capabilities relative to competing AI assistants.
According to the report, Apple may use privacy protections as a key differentiator while some competing products continue offering broader functionality and more advanced conversational performance.
The report also noted that Apple’s privacy positioning could obscure the extent to which Google technology is involved in powering portions of the new Siri experience.
Featured image credits: Flickr
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