Apple's version of AI, Apple Intelligence, has only been available in part to the public for a couple of months. Apple is slowly adding more AI features to iOS 18, though some of them are currently so broken they need to be turned off.
A newly leaked memo has revealed Apple's priorities when it comes to AI in 2025 and gives us an idea of what to look for from Apple this year.
Today, Apple whisperer Mark Gurman reported that Apple was transitioning Kim Vorrath, a veteran project manager and "fixer", into its AI and Siri division. Vorrath has been given a mandate of "whipping artificial intelligence and Siri into shape." Vorrath's move has not officially been confirmed by Apple, with spokespeople declining to comment.
The news of the focus on AI came as part of a leaked memo from Apple's head of AI John Giannandrea. According to memo, the AI group is "focused on revamping the underlying infrastructure of Siri and improving the company's in-house AI models."
The memo reveals two main prongs of focus for Giannandrea and Vorrath this year.
- Revamp the core of Siri
- Improve existing AI models
It has been previously reported that Apple is attempting to create its own Siri LLM, which likely won't ship until iOS 19.4 in 2026, but sounds a lot like what Giannandrea is working to do this year.
Apple has seemingly been determined to keep much of its AI on-device as possible, which has led to reports that Apple is "two years behind" competitors like Google and OpenAI which are more focused on cloud-based AI. Much of this has been done in favor of privacy and security.
Currently, Siri is coupled with OpenAI's ChatGPT and uses that platform for AI-based searches and content. Though even ChatGPT struggles to do things that Siri already did well. It's obvious ChatGPT is a stopgap until Apple can get Siri to a similar level as Gemini Live. Reportedly, Apple is even considering expanding Siri's capabilities with integration of other AI companies including Google's Gemini and Anthoropic's Claude.
Presumably, Vorrath will be working to right this boat and get Apple's AI efforts to the next level. We'll see as the company continues its slow rollout of Apple Intelligence well into the new year.
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