I’m a longtime iPhone user, and last year my iPhone changed in ways I never thought possible. I can load third-party app stores, use third-party payment systems, and even sideload apps. I can also change default iPhone apps to third-party equivalents. I definitely never thought any of that would be possible on my iPhone, considering how hard Apple has fought to keep those features off its mobile platforms.
I never asked the EU to compel Apple to make these changes to iOS, and I haven’t personally used any of the “perks” the Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to offer. I don’t want to sideload apps on my iPhone and won’t use alternative app stores or their payment systems anytime soon. As for default iPhone apps, there’s only one app I’d choose over Apple’s, though I don’t really have to. That’s Google Maps, my go-to navigation app.
But if there’s one default iPhone app worth replacing with a third-party option, it’s Siri. European users might soon get that choice. In the age of genAI software like ChatGPT and Gemini, replacing Siri is a more exciting idea than swapping out any other default app.
Siri was frustrating long before ChatGPT came along. While Apple was the first to showcase voice assistant capabilities for a computing device, it never capitalized on that lead. Amazon and Google quickly offered better voice experiences.
Once ChatGPT arrived, AI reshaped what voice assistants could do. ChatGPT has an impressive Advanced Voice Mode that lets you talk to the AI. It isn’t a full assistant since it doesn’t integrate with mobile apps, but you can chat with it.
Then there’s Google Assistant, which has evolved into Gemini in the AI era. Gemini Live also lets you interact with the AI by voice.
Siri can’t keep up. Apple won’t give Siri ChatGPT-like capabilities until much later, and the Siri AI experience revealed at WWDC 2024 might not arrive until next year.
Apple is still working on turning Siri into a chatbot. A new Bloomberg report says Apple is developing a new Siri app from scratch. That’ll take time, and Apple probably won’t say much about Siri during the upcoming iOS 19 segment at WWDC 2025.
The same report says Apple is considering letting iPhone users in the EU replace Siri with a third-party assistant. It’s unclear which assistants might be available, but Gemini is the most obvious guess.
Google transitioned Google Assistant to Gemini over the past year. The AI chatbot now replaces Google Assistant on Android phones, and Gemini is expanding to all devices running Google software, including watches, cars, TVs, and Android XR smart glasses.
Gemini is now central to everything Google does, so turning it into an assistant makes sense.
You can use Gemini on the iPhone through a standalone app. But what if you could fully replace Siri with Gemini?
I’d say the same for ChatGPT, which I prefer over Gemini, but I’m not sure it could function as effectively as a default assistant.
We don’t yet know what level of access Apple would give third-party assistants. Siri can create calendar events, send texts, and control smart home devices. It doesn’t always get it right, but it interacts with a variety of iPhone apps.
I’d expect similar access for Gemini if it’s allowed to replace Siri. But I can also see a scenario where Gemini is restricted to surfacing info from Google apps only.
In that case, ChatGPT wouldn’t offer much beyond answering questions. Replacing Siri with ChatGPT would just give faster access to OpenAI’s chatbot. But you can already do that with Apple Intelligence on supported iPhones by assigning ChatGPT to the Action button.
There’s a lot of guesswork here. Switching from Siri to a third-party AI assistant is a lot more complicated than swapping the Mail or Maps app for Gmail or Google Maps. If Apple is working on the feature, as required by the EU, we’ll need to wait for an official announcement to see how it will work.
Will I switch from Siri to Gemini if it’s an option? I probably won’t, since I’m not a big Gemini user. But others might want to, especially while Siri lacks AI features.
I’ll say again, Apple should make these features available worldwide, not just in the EU. The continued resistance isn’t doing the company any favors, especially with the reputational damage from recent events. Siri AI turning out to be vaporware and the embarrassing court defeat in the anti-steering case haven’t helped.
It’s probably just a matter of time before more regulators around the world follow the EU’s lead. Apple should embrace these changes globally, including letting users choose their default apps. Most people will likely still stick with Apple’s own apps.
