Here's how the Siri of iOS 9 will push ahead of Google Now and Cortana

For years, Apple's Siri digital assistant has skulked in the corner of iOS, usually assisting only when asked. Like the wallflower who gets a summer makeover, however, the new Siri that steps out with iOS 9 this fall will be outgoing and eager, bounding forward to help. Siri's upgrade (revealed at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday) emphasizes proactivity and has achieved parity with the primary features of Google Now and Microsoft's Cortana: time- and location-based reminders, hunting down videos that can be played within an app, identifying contacts via their phone number, or launching particular songs. But several of Siri's promised features actually push the platform ahead of the competition: pulling useful data from your apps, controlling your smart home, and kicking off specialized tasks based on your habits or current needs. Now that the power balance is shifting, here's how Siri stacks up to her competition.