Two years after announcement, Apple’s new Siri to still launch in ‘beta’ with fresh privacy features: Report

Apple’s long-delayed Siri overhaul is finally expected to arrive with iOS 27, but even after more than two years since its announcement, the new features could be labelled as ‘beta’ when they first arrive with the new iPhones later this year. The company is also said to be planning some privacy-focused features for the upcoming Siri app in order to make the chatbot stand out from rivals.

iOS 27 privacy features in Siri:

Mark Gurman in an earlier report noted how the new Siri app would work similarly to other chatbots on the market, where users would be able to ask questions to the AI assistant, search conversations, and have past chats saved as memory.

In his latest report, Gurman notes that the Cupertino-based tech giant may have given Google the rights to Siri’s “brains” through its AI partnership, but the company still has a few tricks up its sleeve, especially in the privacy arena.

One of the biggest privacy features Apple is said to be adding to iOS 27’s Siri app is an auto-delete chat history option. Gurman notes that users will be able to choose how long Siri conversations are retained, with options including 30 days, one year, or forever. The feature is similar to the disappearing message controls already available inside Apple’s Messages app.

While rival chatbots offer an incognito chat option to stop conversations from being used for AI training or stored by companies, Apple reportedly believes such protections should be built into the regular chatbot experience itself, rather than as an optional setting that must be manually enabled.

The company is also said to be placing tighter controls around Siri’s memory, including what information the chatbot will be able to retain and for how long it remains stored.

Gurman also notes that users will have the option of choosing whether the new Siri app opens to a grid of previous conversations or directly into a new chat.

Genmoji upgrades

Apple is also said to be planning upgrades for its Genmoji feature in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 in order to improve adoption of the feature.

The company is reportedly working on a “Suggested Genmoji” feature capable of generating emoji using users’ photos and commonly typed phrases.

The feature could be optional and is expected to first arrive with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.

Apple to bring Siri in ‘beta’

Gurman notes that Siri’s 2026 launch could mirror Apple’s initial strategy for the voice assistant when the company labelled Siri as ‘beta’ before removing the tag in 2013.

The report notes that Apple is using the beta label for the new Siri in test versions of iOS 27 and, with just about a month left before WWDC, there is a strong chance this approach could be replicated in developer beta versions and even in the stable iOS 27 build.

There could also be a toggle to leave the Siri beta experience.