Apple has released public betas for iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate and its other upcoming software, prompting the latest Engadget Podcast to weigh in on whether the new Siri AI features actually deliver useful functionality. Hosts Devindra Hardawar and Nathan Ingraham conclude that Siri AI feels genuinely helpful and less intrusive than rivals such as Microsoft's Copilot, a notable verdict given the pressure on Apple to prove its AI efforts can compete after a slow start.

The episode also covers performance improvements across the new operating systems and turns to reports of OpenAI's rumoured hardware ambitions, including a "humanlike" portable AI speaker. The hosts discuss Apple's pointed criticism of OpenAI's hardware business as "rotten to the core" and OpenAI's response, before wrapping up with Engadget reviews and pop culture recommendations.