Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote was one of its most significant events in years. A fully rebuilt Siri. A new AI architecture. iOS 27 is reaching back all the way to the iPhone 12.
But, between all this, there was something else as well, which went unnoticed by many fans, and that is ‘Siri’s are not created equally for every phone.’
The reality is that Apple Intelligence functions on a tiered hardware system. While 12 different iPhone models will get base-level Siri AI features, the most premium capabilities, specifically the ultra-realistic expressive voices and advanced systemwide dictation, require a staggering 12GB of unified memory.
Because of this massive RAM requirement, the absolute peak version of Siri AI is gated behind an elite tier of hardware.
So, to enjoy the advanced version of Siri AI, features like expressive voices, more advanced dictation, and more, the ordinary iPhone won’t work; you need to have more upgrade versions.
Let’s read inside to find which models.
What Is AFM Core Advanced?
Apple unveiled three models in the AFM family: AFM Core, AFM Core Advanced, and AFM Cloud. These are all built for Apple Silicon devices and refined with Google Gemini models.
The top-tier on-device model, AFM Core Advanced, is a 20-billion-parameter model. It requires 12GB of RAM to run, and only the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air carry that much hardware spec.
Every other iPhone, including iPhone 16 Pro, runs at the base AFM Core model, which operates on 8GB of RAM with a 3-billion-parameter architecture.
Devices like the iPhone 15 Pro get a middle tier. Everything from the iPhone 12 to the standard iPhone 16 gets the OS, just not the advanced AI features.
Which iPhones Are Available?
The iPhones which are available for advanced AI Siri features are:
- iPhone17 Pro
- iPhone 17 Pro Max
- iPhone Air
So What Are You Actually Missing?
Right now, two features are exclusive to AFM Core Advanced.
The first is voice customisation, that is, the ability to adjust the pace and expressiveness of Siri’s voice, making it speak faster, slower, or with varying levels of enthusiasm.
Everyone on Siri AI can still pick from a selection of Siri voices, but fine-grained control is reserved for the top three models.
The second feature is advanced systemwide dictation. According to Apple, this updated engine “automatically handles capitalisation, punctuation, and formatting” as you speak, which means you can just talk naturally and every time you pause, or fumble, Siri AI will get is and will write accordingly, without any mistakes in the text.
So users, who use dictation for messages, notes or kind of hand-free navigation, this is a very good feature.
Should You Be Worried?
Whether you need to worry about this or not highly depends on your usage of the iPhone. If you use your iPhone too much for dictation or voice controls, you may look forward to upgrading your phone; other models are also getting some of the Siri AI features.
iOS 27 also brings up to 30% faster app launches and supports devices all the way back to the iPhone 12, so the update itself is a meaningful upgrade regardless of which AI tier your phone falls into.
Also, Siri AI will not be available in the European Union or China at launch, so the hardware eligibility debate is, for now, a point for a significant part of Apple’s user base.
Also Read: iOS 27 Brings Major CarPlay Upgrades: Here’s Everything New
