The Siri AI Data Sources - Testing and Discovery Thread

[iFanaddic]

Please read first reply for context and disclaimer 👇​

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Working Queries in Beta 1 ​

✅ Set a timer and play X song

✅ Show my pictures of X

✅ Show my selfies from summer 2023

✅ Based on my journal entries, what can you say about me? (Siri answered this one surprisingly well.)

✅ Recommend some activities I might like near me - (When questioned further Siri says it recommended activities past visits and interests captured in reminders and photos)

✅ Does IKEA sell spare parts for a KALLAX shelf? (Was also able to provide directions and store hours.)

✅ (CarPlay) What is the amusement park on my left? Siri correctly identified La Ronde in Montreal based on my location, provided ticket pricing, shared historical information about the park, and correctly identified that I had visited before based on photos taken there in 2023.

✅ (CarPlay) There is a public indoor pool on my right. What’s that place? Siri correctly identified the location and was able to provide insights about it.

✅ (CarPlay) What is the current speed limit?

✅ (CarPlay) What is my current speed?

✅ Can you find the recipes in my Notes app?

✅ Can you remember that X is my boss? (Siri added the information to the contact card.)

✅ Turn off the lights every evening at 10 PM. (Siri created a Home automation.)

✅ I want to do a outdoor BBQ in X (other city) on Sunday, is it a good idea based on the weather forecast? (Siri Recommended saturday.)

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Partially Functional Queries in Beta 1​

⚠️ When was the last time I was in X (city)? - Siri answered using photos taken at the location but did not seem to be able to reference Places Visited data.

⚠️ Archive all emails from X and unsubscribe from their mailing list. - Siri could archive the emails or move them to junk but could not unsubscribe from the mailing list.

⚠️ (CarPlay) Turn off location sharing for one hour. - Siri offered to disable Location Services entirely.

⚠️ What is my password for X website? - Siri only opened the Password app 50% of the time

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Currently Unsupported Queries in Beta 1 (Some of those may never work and that's fine)​

❌ How was my sleep last night?

❌ Show me screenshots from June 2025.

❌ Can you provide any insight on my weight?

❌ Go to Notifications settings.

❌ When was the last time I was in X (city)?

❌ When was the last time the front door was opened? (Siri simply opened the Home app.)

❌ Did I take my meds this morning?

❌ Turn off all the lights and play music on all HomePods.

❌ How much did I spend at restaurants this month? (Siri mentioned Apple Cash is unavailable in my region.)

❌ Notify me when humidity reaches 35% in the living room. (Shortcuts couldn’t help either.)

❌ Help me find the Apple TV remote.

❌ Play my most liked songs from 2012. (Pre-Apple Music era.)

❌ Play my most liked songs from 2016.

❌ (CarPlay) Send a voice clip to myself.

❌ (Home / Smart Lock) How many times was the front door opened today?

❌ What is my most skipped song? (Siri could not access listening statistics.)

❌ When was my last workout? (Siri replied: “Nothing found in Calendar.”)

❌ What was my last workout? (Siri replied: “Nothing found in Calendar.”)

❌ Create a daily forecast notification with weather, calendar events, and important news.

❌ What was our first conversation this morning? (Siri replied that it doesn’t keep track of conversations which is false.)

❌ The last time I went to the office, did I stay more than 30 minutes?

❌ Take me to notification settings

❌ What is my personality MBTI type? (Siri replied that it doesn’t know me enough)

Note: Tests marked with “(CarPlay)” were performed while driving. Siri was invoked exclusively through steering wheel controls.

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Not Tested Yet (Please Help)​

🧪 Cycle Tracking queries

🧪 Apple Cash / Apple Card queries

🧪 HomeKit accessory queries (thermostats, cameras, smart appliances)

🧪 Files app queries

🧪 Screen Time queries

🧪 Parental Controls queries

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What We Liked in Beta 1​

• I ran into several instances where I asked Siri to correct something it remembered, and it appeared to update that information for future use.
• Even when a conversation seemed interrupted, Siri often resumed context after being reactivated.
• Siri does not appear to be building a persistent personality profile the way some AI assistants do.
• When specifically asked to comment on personality traits based on my Journal entries, Siri was able to make what seemed like reasonable observations.
• Siri-powered Spotlight searches are fast.
• Type to Siri and the dedicated Siri app are welcome additions.
• It's much easier to maintain a conversation with Siri, it seems to listen longer
• I haven't yet been told I can search the web for XYZ
• Siri was unable to provide meaningful statistics about personal data.

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What We Disliked in Beta 1​

• Settings searches remain somewhat unreliable.
• Siri struggles with names in multiple languages, including some street names and song titles.
• When asked to “go home,” Siri could not consistently distinguish between my primary residence and my cottage.
• Siri claims it will remember the preferred address but did not appear to do so consistently. I ultimately had to correct it manually.

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Other Observations Made in Beta 1​

• Some limitations exist while using CarPlay, even when similar requests are handled normally outside of CarPlay.
• Certain restrictions present in CarPlay do not exist when connected via regular car Bluetooth.
• Other than Reminders, Calendars, and Timers, Siri currently does not appear able to proactively notify me about things.
• Health data appears inaccessible.
• Workout data appears inaccessible.
• Oddly, when asked to tell a joke, Siri appears to use the same joke database as previous iOS versions.
• I was surprised to discover that AI-generated playlists are still unavailable in Canada.
• Siri no longer seems to transcribe what is said in real time (maybe an accessibility settings)

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Data Sources Siri Appears Able to Access in Beta 1​

• GPS Location
• Orientation (north, south, east, west)
• Current Speed and speed limits
• Journal Entries
• Messages
• Emails
• Calendar Events
• Photos (including metadata, timestamps, and location data)
• Notes (content and categories)
• Contacts (names, phone numbers, and relationship information)

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Data Sources That Appear Missing or Intentionally Excluded in Beta 1​

• Health Data
• Workout Data
• Places Visited (Apple Maps)
• HomeKit telemetry and usage statistics
• iTunes-era song metadata
• Apple Music listening statistics and history

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Open Questions​

• Will third-party apps gain access to Siri-generated responses when their APIs are involved?
• Which file-management actions can Siri perform? (Delete, move, rename, categorize, print, etc.)
• Will additional Health and Fitness integrations arrive in future betas?
• How much of Siri’s understanding comes from Semantic Index versus cloud-based intelligence?
• Which data sources are indexed locally versus queried on demand
• Why is AI Playlist (iOS 26) in Apple music still limited to US users?

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[iFanaddic]

Why I think it's important​

The new thing is not the amount of information stored on our phones, nor is it AI itself. What’s new is that this device we’ve held in our hands for nearly two decades, that many of us would consider an extension of our brain, is now becoming a searchable database of our lives for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

My main interest with these initial tests was to push the boundaries and learn more about the data points/sources used by Apple’s Semantic Index. Apple has been somewhat vague about exactly what gets embedded, indexed, and retained locally. As far as I know, that information is not publicly documented in a comprehensive way today.

I think there should be more transparency around how deep this indexing goes, what is being tracked, to what extent, and for what purpose, not just for this version of Siri in iOS 26, but for future versions as well, since the available data sources and capabilities are likely to evolve over time.

We have this incredible chance to test, document and leave online traces about this technology before it's literarily in billions of regular people's hands and in order to get a better understanding of what it can do to improve our lives, while also identifying some of its downsides, flaws, and opportunities for improvement.

Disclaimer​

Results may vary. These tests were conducted using an iPhone 16 Pro in Canada with U.S. settings enabled by an everyday user who’s simply curious about how this all works. I’m hoping for better results as the beta progresses toward the September release and perhaps on future devices that support more advanced models.

I’m just a regular guy (not a developer and not formally trained in AI).

The goal of this thread is not to criticize Apple Intelligence, nor to blindly praise it. I’d simply like to push the limits of this new technology, better understand what it can do to improve our lives, and identify some of its shortcomings, limitations, and opportunities for improvement.

As is often repeated on these forums, the best way to improve something that doesn’t work as expected or to send suggestions is to submit feedback through Feedback Assistant. The intent of this thread is merely to compare notes, share discoveries, and hopefully spark some interesting discussions.

AI and Siri-related topics tend to attract strong opinions from both sides. Since these conversations are inevitable, let’s try to keep this thread constructive, informative, and maybe even a little educational.

This text was improved using AI

@MacRumors team, I have a feeling this thread might generate a few interesting ideas for future articles. 😉

Recommendation: Before running your own tests, make sure your iPhone has finished indexing.