Siri AI’s Here (Sort Of) 🌍

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the launch of iOS 27 and, with it, the arrival of Siri AI. Well, to an extent, Siri AI is now out in beta, though there is a waitlist for it. Yet, from what we can see so far, the signs are good that Siri AI will be a useful addition to your iPhone. We also have news on the remarkable, concerted call for an AI slowdown from Musk, Altman and Amodei, as well as the dissenting voices of Donald Trump and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Our App of the Week looks to reinvent recommendations, and we have some good news on Spotify removing your kids’ embarrassing songs from your annual Wrapped recap. Be sure to check out the latest from us here at 3Advance, too.

🎬 Our Top Take

🍏🤖 Apple – iOS 27 Arrives with Siri AI in Beta

It’s somewhat unlucky for Apple that its biggest AI-related release coincided with a week when everyone was talking about the AI apocalypse (see below), but, well, here we are. iOS 27 launched on Monday, and while it brought the usual round of performance tweaks and updates to iPhones, the main talking point was that the long-awaited, much-delayed (it was announced in 2024) Siri AI was part of the update. As Apple put it: “Siri, a profoundly more capable personal assistant, is here.” Or is it? First of all, it’s better to say that the Siri AI beta is here, but even then, there is a waitlist. So, we are not quite off to the races yet. To be fair to Apple, what we do know from testing looks promising. TechCrunch has waxed lyrical about Siri’s usefulness, especially with its integration with the iPhone’s Camera app. Apple has stressed the word assistant, and we can see why, as Siri is designed to carry out tasks across your phone. Overall, though, we aren’t that convinced it puts Apple anywhere near a lead in the AI race, as many of the examples quoted by testers – splitting a restaurant bill by sharing the photo with Siri, for instance – can already be achieved by other AI tools and, indeed, smartphones. The signs, however, are that it improves the iPhone experience in many ways, and new CEO John Ternus will be content with that. For now. #SortOfSiri Read more here.

📲 App of the Week: Rec League

Rec League is one part social network, one part recommendations app. The idea is that it takes the algorithm (and AI) out of recommendations, building rankings based on real people’s experiences. It covers everything from life-changing books to restaurants in Rome to home improvement ideas. It has a program for “tastemakers” (influencers, basically) who can charge for their content, but Rec League is otherwise free to use. We are not so sure how the influencer program sits with the “recommendations from real people” mantra, but it retains an authenticity that you may see as a refreshing break from Instagram. It’s only on iOS for now. Check out Rec League here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: $60p/m

📈📉 Apple – New AI Home Security Features Come with Hefty Price Tag

iOS 27 and Siri AI weren’t the only Apple drops this week, as we got other products with a dose of Apple Intelligence. Most notably, there is the AI revamp of Apple Home, i.e., Apple’s control center for your smart home accessories, including security cameras. But those additional AI features, which include searchable summaries of video footage, won’t come cheap: Up to $60 per month for households with multiple cameras. #HeavySecurity Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

🇺🇸🇨🇳 AI – The Calls for an Industry-Wide Slowdown Get Louder

We felt compelled to follow up with a kind of Part 2 to last week’s story on OpenAI’s Chief Scientist’s warning on AI. Turns out, he wasn’t alone. Sam Altman, Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Elon Musk have all called for a slowdown in AI development. It’s stunning that this trio of rivals agrees on anything, especially something that seems detrimental to their companies’ near-term finances. Voices to the contrary exist, however, as Jensen Huang and President Trump have both dismissed the need for a slowdown. The latter dismissed the warnings as a hoax. Bluster aside, much will depend on China agreeing to slow down – it has indicated it is open to the idea – but blinking first in global politics and economics is not always easy. It feels like we are living through a real-life version of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. #AIDoom Read more here.

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

We’ve been running What’s Appening for around four and a half years and are considering its future. Should we keep going? Is it worth it? Is it time to wrap it up? We love seeing it come together, and it’s been a great way to keep in touch with all of you. We’d love to hear what you think, or if you’ve got any ideas to fund it moving forward. Sponsorship? New stewardship? Open to all your thoughts.

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