Siri is good now??
by David Pierce
Jun 12, 2026, 1:17 PM EDT
You’d be forgiven for thinking this day would never come. Siri has spent a decade and half somewhere between “sort of useful at a few things” and “utterly disastrous, why did I even try, can it honestly not even set a timer.” But the wildest thing just happened: Apple put out a new version of Siri, and it actually seems to be pretty good.
On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay talk about their early experiences with Siri AI, and what it means for users, and the rest of the AI industry, for the iPhone’s built-in assistant to be good enough at most things. There’s very little about Siri AI that feels bleeding edge or brand new, but it works. And that might change everything.
After that, they talk about the changing winds in social networking, as Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube all announced new features designed to make their huge ecosystems feel a little smaller and a lot more personal. Group chats have been replacing public posts for a while now, but is the era of the Twitter feed really over? After that, it’s time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, and a lightning round filled with news about the Trump Phone, Claude Fable, solar energy, and a surprisingly good deal for iPad users.
Description
We're all starting to test Apple's newest software post-WWDC, and the most surprising thing has happened: Siri actually seems to be pretty good now. Nilay and David discuss how that happened, and what it means for the AI industry, and all of us, that Apple's voice assistant is finally useful. Then, we have some news about Bluesky, Threads, and YouTube that adds up to a big change in social networks, plus the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr, the Trump Phone, and a really great deal for iPad users
Further reading:
- Apple announces Siri AI and its next generation of Apple Intelligence
- I tried Siri AI, and so far it actually works
- Apple’s new Siri AI knows when to shut up
- I’m relieved Siri AI isn’t trying to be a health coach
- You can just tell the Instagram algorithm what you want now
- YouTube is introducing DMs (again)
- Bluesky is getting ‘communities’
- Anthropic releases its first Mythos-class model Claude Fable
- Claude Fable won’t answer basic biology questions
- Anthropic apologizes for invisible Claude Fable guardrails
- Microsoft restricts Claude Fable for employees over data retention concerns
- YouTube is introducing DMs (again)
- Bluesky is getting ‘communities’
- iFixit Trump phone teardown confirms it’s an HTC dupe
- Solar has overtaken coal in the US for the first time
- AT&T is launching $3 ‘unlimited’ day passes for iPads
Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
(Timestamps are approximate.)
- 00:00:00 Intro
- 00:03:00 New Siri is good
- 00:04:00 Search Index Breakthrough
- 00:08:00 Cloud vs On Device
- 00:11:00 Siri Upends AI Apps
- 00:20:00 Where Is The Computer
- 00:24:00 EU Interoperability Fight
- 00:31:00 Social News Lightning Trio
- 00:33:00 Mosseri Algorithm Control
- 00:35:00 Bluesky Communities
- 00:37:00 YouTube DMs Social Push
- 00:41:00 Bluesky Bets on Communities
- 00:50:00 Talking to Your Algorithm
- 00:51:00 AI Made-to-Order Instagram
- 00:54:00 Bespoke Apps Break Reality
- 01:01:00 Hype Desk
- 01:02:00 Social Reckoning Trailer Breakdown and Casting
- 01:14:00 CBS News Meltdown
- 01:17:00 Carr vs Newsrooms
- 01:20:00 SpaceX IPO Favors
- 01:24:00 Claude Fable Guardrails
- 01:30:00 Trump Phone Teardown
- 01:34:00 AT&T iPad Day Pass
- 01:36:00 Solar Beats Coal
- 01:38:00 Signoff
Watch | Listen | Get ad-free
In case you missed it this week: We also livestreamed our initial reactions to WWDC, went deep on Steve Jobs’ career arc and legacy, answered all your WWDC questions, and tried to figure out whether YouTubers are the future of movie theaters. And we want to hear all your thoughts about all of it! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, send us an email at vergecast@theverge.com, and tell us everything that’s on your mind. And make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
