The test version of iOS 18 includes the new Siri interface, and here are the main differences between it and the old version.
New Siri vs Old Siri
Apple released the developer beta of iOS 18.1 a few weeks ago. This release includes the new version of Siri and shows how it will change with the implementation of Apple Intelligence. This is a first comparison with the iOS 17 version of Siri.
The full version of Apple Intelligence is still a long way off. For example, there is still no ChatGPT integration. Contextual rules are also still not used. In the video below we compare iOS 18.1 vs. iOS 17.4 Siri commands!
The best way to see how fast Siri is is to watch the video. Below you can see the prompts that were used, which version got it first, which got it right, and which got it better.
Response speed
To start, we test responsiveness. We set the settings for both iPhones to listen for “Hey Siri” and then tested this from the lock screen, home screen, and within an app.
As you can see above, we used a 15 Pro Max for the new Siri and a 13 Mini for the old one. During testing, both Siri’s responded equally quickly. There is one functional difference: with the new Siri you can still interact with the user interface ‘behind’ Siri, with the old one you can’t.
Questions regarding location
For this we asked questions like ‘What’s the weather like?’ or ‘Navigate to city X’. We also tested contextual conversation. These were the questions:
- What’s the weather like?
- What’s the weather like in Miami?
- What is the weather like in Madrid right now?
- How long does it take to drive to Philadelphia?
- What’s the weather like there?
- What should I do when I get there?
Surprisingly, the old Siri held up pretty well. We got all the information we needed in a timely manner. The only thing the new one was better at was navigating somewhere. To do that, it opened the Maps app and started navigation. The old Siri didn’t do that.
Questions regarding facts
With these prompts we tested the same things: how quickly does information appear, how long can context lines be held, and how accurately are questions answered. We used these prompts:
- How old is Tim Cook?
- Where was he born?
- Navigate to his house.
- When were the Miami Dolphins founded
- When was their last match?
- Who is their quarterback?
- How many yards did he have last year?
We tried the Tim Cook questions first, then the football questions. New Siri performed better on the second stage of questions. The information was more accurate, faster, and presented more beautifully. Old Siri gave side information, but it was wrong. When we asked “who’s their quarterback,” we got a list of quarterbacks from another team, even though we were still talking about the Miami Dolphins.
Questions regarding settings
Both Siri can toggle settings on and off, but the new one excels at explanations. For example, you can tell either Siri to turn off dark mode. But if you ask, “How do I turn off dark mode?”, the new Siri will walk you through it step by step. The old Siri does nothing. Here are the prompts it uses:
- How do I switch to dark mode?
- How do I change my WiFi?
- reduce brightness to 25%
- Play Justin Bieber
- Open Safari
- Open Photos
- Send a message to Annie
Conclusion: New Siri vs Old Siri
The old one can functionally complete 95 percent of the prompts. The new one looks nicer and can communicate a bit better with apps. But there is still a lot of room for improvement. Another nice feature is that you can use Siri in the test version of iOS 18 You can text without having to use accessibility, like in iOS 17. Moving to iOS 18.1 beta isn’t really worth it yet. Functionally, there aren’t enough new features to justify the shortcomings of iOS 18.1.
There is still a long way to go, but the vision and the future are clear. Siri will finally become a useful assistant and no longer just something we use to turn off the light in the bedroom.
Download the iPhoned app
