What was the name of the new AI-powered personal assistant launched by Apple in early 2026, designed to compete with existing voice assistants?

Apple did not launch a new AI-powered personal assistant named Aura in early 2026. Instead, the tech giant has focused on a significant overhaul and upgrade (Review) of its long-standing voice assistant, Siri, as a cornerstone of its enhanced artificial intelligence strategy. This revamped Siri is designed to be more capable, conversational, and deeply integrated across the Apple ecosystem, aiming to compete with other advanced AI assistants in the market.

This major refresh of Siri is part of Apple's broader "Apple Intelligence" initiative, which seeks to bring sophisticated generative AI capabilities to its vast user base. To achieve this, Apple announced a multi-year collaboration with Google in January 2026, where the next generation of Apple Foundation (Review) Models, powering features like a more personalized Siri, will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology. This partnership signals Apple's commitment to advancing its AI offerings, addressing previous criticisms about Siri lagging behind competitors.

The upgraded Siri, expected to roll out in early 2026, with further advancements anticipated throughout the year with iOS 27, is poised to understand context, follow multi-step conversations, and perform complex tasks across applications. While leveraging Google's powerful AI, Apple emphasizes maintaining its industry-leading privacy standards, aiming for a hybrid approach that combines on-device processing with selective cloud computing. This strategic move is crucial for Apple to solidify its position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape and deliver a more intelligent and personalized user experience.