Apple To Allow iPhone Users To Set Gemini As Voice Assistant? Here’s What We Know | Tech News

Siri won’t be the default assistant on iPhone but only in this country

iPhone users will be able to use voice assistants other than Siri if the new iOS 26 beta update goes through to the public. The company is looking to tweak its policies for different regions, and the new option will be available if you set the iPhone to Japan region and you are actually living there. 

The iOS 26.3 beta update has shown signs of this change, which is big with Siri being able to replace it with other third-party assistants like Gemini or even Alexa. Apple has previously changed the rules forced by regulatory pressure. The iPhone 15 USB C adoption was done to comply with the EU tech rules. 

iPhones Without Siri: How It Might Happen? 

The details from the iOS 26.3 beta suggest Apple will agree to the terms of the Japanese regulator which explains why the third-party voice assistant setup will work for that region settings only. Having said that, the company says the feature rollout will be only compatible if all the apps get developer updates for the new system. 

Apple has made similar changes for EU regions, wherein you get third-party payment support as well as the option to sideload apps on iPhones, which is not available anywhere else. 

Siri has been compared to other assistants for many years and still continues to lag in comparison to the advancement of Google and Alexa who have now evolved into the AI era. The AI version of Siri was expected in 2024 but Apple is now promising the new version to be released sometime in 2026 and many suggest that could be with the iOS 26.4 update which seems ambitious considering we are already onto the iOS 26.3 beta version. 

So, even if you can’t switch to other assistants on iPhone in other countries, the new Siri could hopefully solve all the issues that users have faced with the default assistant and make better use of its AI avatar.