iPhone 16: Rumored AI-powered Siri to bring this new feature

New Siri, new mics
By Kimberly Gedeon  on 
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Man holding iPhone 15
The next iPhone will have a more powerful Siri Credit: Shutterstock/LittlePigPower

The iPhone 16 is rumored to get an AI-powered Siri, and according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this update will come with a significant boost to the microphone.

In a Medium post, Kuo claims that Apple must strengthen the internals inside the next-generation iPhone to support new-and-improved Siri, particularly the hardware that facilitates voice input.

Which upgrades are coming to the iPhone 16's microphone?

Kuo says that Apple is adding the following two upgrades to the iPhone 16's microphone:

  • Better water resistance

  • Improved signal-to-noise ratio

Kuo's conjecture about an AI-powered Siri coming to the iPhone corroborates an early November leak from respected Apple leaker @Tech_Reve.

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"Apple is currently using LLM to completely revamp Siri into the ultimate virtual assistant and is preparing to develop it into Apple's most powerful killer AI app," the tipser said.

Kuo said that the microphone upgrade will affect all iPhone 16 models, including the entry-level iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and the iPhone 16 Pro variants.

However, don't expect Apple to use the word "AI" when it debuts the new Siri. Despite
AI underpinning many features that Apple debuted at WWDC 2023, including improved iOS autocorrect and 3D avatars for Apple Vision Pro, the Cupertino-based tech giant avoided the word like the plague, opting for "machine learning" instead.

But some would argue that "machine learning" is the more accurate term, anyway.

As always, keep in mind that these are just rumors, so keep your grain of salt handy. However, I'm still looking forward to AI — er, I mean — "machine learning-powered Siri."

Topics Apple iPhone

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Kimberly Gedeon
East Coast Tech Editor

Kimberly Gedeon is a tech explorer who enjoys doing deep dives into the most popular gadgets, from the latest iPhones to the most immersive VR headsets. She's drawn to strange, avant-garde, bizarre tech, whether it's a 3D laptop, a gaming rig that can transform into a briefcase, or smart glasses that can capture video. Her journalism career kicked off about a decade ago at MadameNoire where she covered tech and business before landing as a tech editor at Laptop Mag in 2020.


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