So Siri AI is finally here, the betas are out, and you are itching to try the assistant Apple has been promising since 2024. There is just one small hurdle in the way. Before you can actually use it, you have to join a waitlist. Just as I mentioned in our earlier piece on the Siri waitlist, you will have to join a waitlist for Siri before you can get going.
Apple dropped the first betas of iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 today, and they bring the more capable Siri AI along with them. Developers can grab the betas and start testing right now, but Siri itself is gated behind that queue.
Here is exactly how to get on the list once you have updated. Open the Settings app, head into the Apple Intelligence section, and opt in to the Siri waitlist. That is it. From there you wait for Apple to flip the switch on your device.
How long is the wait? Nobody knows yet. Apple has not put a number on it. The one bit of reassurance is that Apple ran a near identical waitlist when it first rolled out Apple Intelligence back in iOS 18, and for the earliest developers to update, access came through in a matter of hours rather than days. So if you are quick off the mark, you might not be twiddling your thumbs for long.
A few important catches worth knowing before you get excited.
Siri AI and the new Apple Intelligence features run on every device that supports Apple Intelligence, but some on-device capabilities are reserved for newer iPhones, iPads and Macs. So having a compatible device gets you in the door, but the very latest hardware unlocks a bit more.
On cost, Siri AI is free, which is the good news. The catch is that Apple puts daily limits on some features, image generation being the obvious one. If you find yourself bumping into those limits, opting into an iCloud+ subscription bumps your AI allowances up. Classic Apple, a free headline feature with a paid lever to pull if you want more.
There are also some hard restrictions to be aware of. Siri AI is English only for now, so other languages will have to wait. It is not available in the European Union on iPhone or iPad, although EU users can at least try it on a Mac, which is an odd carve out but better than nothing. And it is not available in China at all.
The short version is that getting Siri AI is easy enough, you just have to join the queue and accept a few limits depending on where you live and what hardware you are running. Get on that waitlist now if you are running the beta, because the sooner you opt in, the sooner you are likely to get access.
