AirPods 5 support hands-free Siri AI, Apple’s new Siri, but the feature carries two requirements: iOS 27 and an Apple Intelligence iPhone. iOS 27 arrives Monday, September 14 as a free update, four days before the $129 earbuds reach stores on September 18.
Siri AI launches in beta, and in English only at first. That means AirPods 5 buyers get a beta assistant on launch day, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish following in October.
What hands-free Siri AI does on AirPods 5
Apple’s release describes the feature as hands-free Siri AI, meaning the new Siri responds by voice without a tap on the earbuds or the phone. Apple has not published a list of commands or capabilities specific to the AirPods 5 version.
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The assistant runs on Apple Intelligence, which Apple says operates on-device and with Private Cloud Compute. Apple has not said which requests stay on the iPhone and which go to the cloud when they start from AirPods.
Two related features arrive with it: head-gesture replies, where a nod or a shake answers a prompt, and Live Translation. Apple has not said whether either depends on Siri AI or works independently of it.
Which iPhone you need for Siri AI on AirPods 5
Apple’s stated requirement is an Apple Intelligence iPhone, but the AirPods 5 release does not name models. Apple has not published an updated compatibility list alongside the announcement.
The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, announced at the same event, run on the A20 Pro with a dual 16-core Neural Engine that Apple says doubles the AI processing of the A19 Pro. Greg Joswiak’s quote on the phone names intelligence as one of its four focus areas.
| Requirement | What Apple has confirmed |
|---|---|
| Software | iOS 27, free update on September 14 |
| Phone | An Apple Intelligence iPhone; Apple has not listed models in the AirPods 5 release |
| Siri AI status | Beta |
| Language at launch | English |
| Languages in October | French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish |
| AirPods 5 model | Both the $129 and $149 versions |
What Apple has not confirmed about Siri AI on AirPods
Apple has not said whether hands-free Siri AI works when AirPods 5 are paired with an iPad or Mac, or whether older AirPods gain the feature through iOS 27. It also has not given a date for Siri AI leaving beta.
Pre-event reporting in our AirPods 5 rumor round-up had focused on noise cancellation rather than Siri. Pre-orders opened today, September 9, and our Apple event live blog covers everything else from John Ternus’s first keynote as CEO.
