Apple is planning to open up Apple Intelligence to third-party AI models in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 this fall. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that you'll be able to choose which chatbot powers Apple's AI features across the system.
These third-party models, called Extensions, won't just run Siri. They'll also handle other Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Image Playground. Apple is even planning to let you pick different Siri voices for different AI models.
This is a significant shift for Apple, which has historically kept tight control over core system features. Opening up Apple Intelligence to third-party models means you could potentially use ChatGPT, Claude, or other AI assistants as the brain behind your iPhone's AI features.
For anyone who's felt limited by Apple's default AI capabilities, this could be a game changer. You'll be able to choose the model that works best for your workflow, whether that's for writing assistance, image generation, or voice interactions.
The timing makes sense. Apple has been playing catch-up in AI, and letting users bring their own models could help close that gap faster than building everything in-house. It also acknowledges what many power users already know: different AI models have different strengths.
We won't see this until fall 2025 at the earliest, assuming Apple sticks to its typical release schedule. But it signals a more open approach to AI integration than we've seen from Apple before.
