Apple iPhone: Users will soon be able to replace Siri with Google Gemini and the like

Apple has had to make numerous changes to the iPhone over the past few years in order to avoid violating EU directives such as the Digital Markets Act. As a result, third-party apps such as PayPal are now able to access the NFC chip for contactless payments, while alternative app stores such as the Epic Games Store can be used to purchase apps and games. Even the USB-C port on the iPhone 16 is a result of the EU's USB-C requirement.

Now that iOS already offers the option of setting a browser such as Google Chrome or an alternative email app as the default, the same will soon apply to voice assistants. As Bloomberg has learned, Apple is already working on iOS adjustments that would allow the use of competing voice assistants such as Google Gemini instead of being limited to Siri. Until now, users have had to rely on the corresponding apps to use competing voice assistants instead of being able to activate them via the lock button or a voice command.

Bloomberg editor Mark Gurman predicts that a large number of iPhone users will seize the opportunity to replace Siri with a technically superior alternative since Apple's AI efforts are currently lagging behind Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, forcing Siri to sometimes even resort to ChatGPT in order to handle more complex queries. However, Apple is said to already be working on an AI version of Siri in order to better position itself against its rivals.