By all accounts, the new Siri AI that Apple unveiled Monday actually works.
The demo during the WWDC26 keynote looked impressive. (It did things Apple promised two years ago!) It also looked quite legit. (Watching Siri savior Mike Rockwell wait for responses from the voice assistant was so realistic it was borderline boring.)
I’m really tempted to download the iOS 27 developer beta just to check it out, but I really can’t risk borking my iPhone. It’s too central to my day-to-day life. And with a vacation coming up, I can’t afford to have crucial apps suddenly stop working properly.
Others on the Cult of Mac team — let’s call them the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers — took the plunge, though.
The operating system seems stable, they say, but they are encountering some random, annoying bugs. Apps in particular, both Apple’s and those from third-party developers, seem flakey, as you would expect.
They also say Siri AI works a treat. However, the voice assistant with the brain transplant isn’t the only reason to hop on the betas. While Siri AI stole the show at WWDC, iOS 27 packs plenty of other fantastic new features — and not all of them are powered by Apple Intelligence.
Rajesh Pandey put together a list of 10 hidden iOS 27 features that Apple barely mentioned.
So, now are you ready to roll the dice on a beta?
If you want to join my fearless colleagues on the edge, here’s how to get the iOS 27 beta and join the Siri AI waitlist. Or you can jump the queue with a simple Terminal command in macOS 27 Golden Gate.
Also in today’s newsletter:
We talked about Siri AI and all the other big WWDC26 announcements on this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast. Watch it now or find it on your favorite podcast platform.
Feeling cramped? The creators of these setups squeezed Macs into tiny spaces.
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Apple just pledged to purge the App Store of garbage apps.
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Our resident iPad expert Ed Hardy compared the Brydge Max, a premium iPad keyboard case, to Apple's Magic Keyboard. Here’s the mixed verdict.
On this day in 2005, Steve Jobs delivered a brilliant speech at Stanford University. It provided “a template for success through following your passions” that still rings true. And you can watch it in high-def.
— Lewis Wallace, managing editor
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A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
WWDC26 wrap on the Cult of Mac podcast
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Cult of Mac’s buyback program
Tweets of the day
Wallpaper of the day
One more thing ...
My college fund came from my dad paying $50 for a Ford Falcon or some other beat-up car that didn’t run, working on it for a few weeks, and selling it for $250 — and not telling the IRS.
Today’s poll
What iOS 27 feature are you most excited about?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Can your devices handle Apple's new AI features?
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