Siri's AI Upgrade Is Here — But You'll Probably Need a New iPhone to Use It

Apple's new AI-powered Siri is a meaningful improvement, but for most people, it's an upgrade that will require buying a new device. The new features, collectively known as Apple Intelligence, are only compatible with a small slice of Apple's most recent and expensive hardware. According to a hardware list published by 9to5Mac, you will need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to get the full experience on a smartphone. On the desktop, it requires a Mac with an M1 chip or newer, running the upcoming macOS 15 Sequoia.

This is the story of Apple's AI strategy in a nutshell: a long-overdue software enhancement that doubles as a powerful hardware incentive. For years, Siri has been a running joke, a digital assistant easily outclassed by its competitors. The Verge, in a first-look hands-on with the new Siri AI on macOS 15 Sequoia, notes that they had turned Siri off years ago and found Apple's previous AI efforts so “fruitless” they never engaged with them. The new version, however, has them “slightly rethinking things,” suggesting a tangible, if not revolutionary, improvement.

A Smarter Siri, For a Select Few

The promise of Apple Intelligence is to make Siri more context-aware, capable, and integrated across the operating system. It's the kind of deep, on-device processing that Apple champions as a privacy-first alternative to cloud-based AI. The problem is that this on-device processing requires significant neural engine performance, which Apple is using to justify the strict hardware cutoff.

The list of compatible devices from 9to5Mac is stark. For iPhones, only the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max makes the cut. This means if you bought a standard iPhone 15 just months ago, you are already locked out of Apple's next major software paradigm. For iPads and Macs, the requirement is any M-series chip, starting from the M1. This is a broader base of compatibility, but it still leaves behind a significant number of powerful, Intel-based Macs sold as recently as 2020.

The Hardware Paywall

The pattern indicates Apple is drawing a hard line in the sand. Your perfectly capable iPhone 15 with its A16 Bionic chip is now a second-class citizen in Apple's new AI world. This isn't about a feature that runs a little slower on older hardware; it's a feature that won't run at all. Together, the reports from The Verge and 9to5Mac paint a clear picture: Apple has built a compelling software reason to upgrade, and it is not shy about leveraging it.

While early impressions suggest the new Siri is better, it's not yet clear if it's a must-have feature that will drive a massive upgrade cycle. For now, it’s a perk for those already at the top of Apple's hardware ladder. The rest of Apple's massive user base will be looking at their familiar, less-intelligent Siri for the foreseeable future, waiting for their next hardware purchase to let them into the club.