New Siri crushes old Siri on Apple Watch

Apple’s new Siri AI on WatchOS 27 appears to fix one of the Apple Watch’s most persistent annoyances: asking a question and getting little more than a web search in return.

In a hands-on test for CNET, lead writer Vanessa Hand Orellana compared the revamped assistant on an Apple Watch Ultra 3 running the WatchOS 27 public beta with the older Siri on a Series 11 running the latest WatchOS 26. To enable the new assistant, she first installed the iOS 27 Public Beta on her iPhone, then turned on Siri AI in iPhone settings, which also set the watch to the new version.

The results, by her account, were lopsided. Asked, “When’s the next ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco?” the old Siri replied with its familiar “Here’s what I found on the web.” The new version answered directly: “The next ferry to San Francisco leaves Vallejo at 4:10 p.m.”

A kitchen question showed the same pattern. When asked “What ingredients do I need to make buttermilk?” old Siri again returned web results. Siri AI responded with a usable answer, saying a homemade substitute needs milk and an acid, with 1 tablespoon of acid for every cup of milk.

The newer Siri also handled multi-part queries better. On Monday, July 13, Orellana asked: “When’s the next World Cup match, and what stadium is it being played in?” Old Siri answered only part of the question, saying France vs. Spain would be tomorrow at noon PT. Siri AI included the venue too: AT&T Stadium in Dallas, and offered to set a reminder.

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In a bonus test, she asked why Erling Haaland was substituted late in the England vs. Norway quarter-final. Old Siri again defaulted to web results, while Siri AI said he was pulled because of severe fatigue and a “dead leg injury.”

Orellana cautions that both Siri AI and WatchOS 27 are still early beta software, with the full release expected this fall alongside Apple’s next major product announcements. But after these tests, she wrote that this was the first time she had intentionally wanted to use Siri on her Apple Watch.