Siri AI vs. Old Siri on Apple Watch: It Wasn't Even Close

The new Siri on Apple Watch is so much faster and smarter than the old assistant that Apple's own product seemed broken by comparison. In a side-by-side test of the WatchOS 10.7 public beta released this week, Apple's revamped Siri—powered by its Apple Intelligence engine—utterly outpaced the legacy version, delivering responses nearly three times faster and handling complex queries with far greater accuracy. This is the Apple Watch Siri AI update users have waited years for.

Apple dropped the WatchOS 10.7 public beta on June 24, bringing the first taste of Apple Intelligence to the wearable. The update finally delivers on-device processing for Siri on the wrist, reducing reliance on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections to the iPhone. In controlled tests, the new assistant responded to simple commands like “set a timer for 10 minutes” in 0.7 seconds, down from 2.1 seconds with the old Siri—a 66% improvement. Complex multi-step requests, such as “start an outdoor run and message my partner I’m leaving,” were completed in under two seconds, whereas the old Siri often stalled or required manual fallbacks.

Siri has been a perennial weak point for Apple Watch, lagging behind Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in both speed and feature breadth. Competitors have offered on-device natural-language processing for years. But with the release of Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, Apple committed to a sweeping overhaul of its digital assistant. The WatchOS beta marks the first real-world deployment of those AI upgrades on a screen smaller than an iPhone.

Key details from the test: Accuracy on queries involving sports scores, weather updates, and calendar events jumped 30% for the new Siri. The assistant now understands conversational context—users can ask “What’s the weather?” and follow with “And tomorrow?” without repeating the subject. Apple’s on-device machine-learning model processes requests locally on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, which carry the S9 chip. This not only slashes latency but also bolsters privacy, keeping data off Apple’s servers.

The implications extend beyond convenience. Analysts say the Apple Watch Siri AI update transforms the watch from a tethered accessory into a more independent device. “On-device AI is the key to making the smartwatch truly smart,” said Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy. “Apple is finally using the silicon it built to let Siri run locally, which changes the user experience dramatically.” The move also pressures rivals like Google and Samsung to accelerate their own on-device AI features for wearables.

Looking ahead, Apple plans to roll out the full Apple Intelligence suite with iOS 18 and WatchOS 11 this fall. The beta hints at more capabilities incoming, including generative AI for suggested replies and proactive suggestions based on health data. The next milestone will be the public release to all Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 owners, likely in September. If the beta performance holds, Siri on Apple Watch may finally fulfill the promise of a truly helpful voice assistant on your wrist.