This underrated Siri feature proves Apple can do AI – but the iPhone’s voice assistant still needs a drastic makeover in 2026

Apple is still very much behind the curve when it comes to delivering fully formed AI tools à la Google’s Magic Eraser and Samsung’s Live Translate, but the iPhone is not totally bereft of machine learning (ML) magic. For Android-rivalling AI features, Apple's best iPhones reply on third-party apps(Image credit: Shutterstock / Tada Images) The best AI features are the invisible time-savers; tools that work in the background to help us use our smartphones less, not more. For example, I’ve only recently come to appreciate just how much I rely on Apple’s ever-improving Siri Suggestions tool. Introduced way back in iOS 9 (meaning it has nothing to do with Apple Intelligence), Siri Suggestions is the ML feature behind those context-aware recommendations you see in various places on your iPhone - in Search, in Mail, on the Home Screen and Lock Screen, or when sharing content between apps. Siri Suggestions (and more) was discussed in the latest episode of the TechRadar podcast, which you can watch below (scrub to 11:27 for the AI discussion). Why iPhone 18 won't come until 2027, Samsung's Trifold disappoints & OpenAI might lose the AI race - YouTube Siri Suggestions is the best example of your iPhone analyzing usage patterns and location information to anticipate your needs at any given moment. It guesses that you might want to send a photo of your dog to your family group chat, so it puts that group chat at the front of the sharing queue. You can also thank Siri Suggestions for automatically adding event details gathered from Mail (flights, reservations, etc.) to your calendar. For me, though, Siri Suggestions is most useful in Search; specifically, it’s responsible for the tray of apps that appears when you swipe down on your iPhone’s Lock Screen or Home Screen. And I’m convinced that Siri’s ability to deliver apps that I genuinely need has improved drastically over the past 12 months, because it seems to make the right recommendation 90% of the time. When I finish work and head to the train station, for instance, Siri Suggestions - without fail - has my train timetable app ready and waiting for me at the front of the app queue in Search. Or, when I remember in a frenzy that I need to complete my daily Duolingo lesson at 11pm, I find that Siri Suggestions has, more often than not, moved that particular app to the front of the queue. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. It sounds silly and unimportant, but these recommendations save me seconds every day - I rarely need to scroll through four pages of apps to find what I’m looking for, because my iPhone has my routine nailed down. And sure, that’s not as impressive as having a phone that can teach me how to bake a lemon soufflé or work as an AI agent to make a restaurant reservation using information gathered from...

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