Apple Delays Highly Anticipated AI-Powered Siri Update Until 2026
Apple made waves at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 25) with a plethora of updates to its operating systems, services, and software. Among the announcements was a new design concept called “Liquid Glass” and a rebranded naming convention. However, one significant product was notably absent from the spotlight: a more personalized, AI-powered Siri.
During the keynote address, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, briefly touched on the delayed Siri update, stating, “As we’ve shared, we’re continuing our work to deliver the features that make Siri even more personal. This work required more time to meet our high-quality standards, and we are excited to share more about it in the coming year.”
The mention of a timeline for the “coming year” suggests that Apple will not have any news on the Siri update until 2026. This delay is significant in the fast-paced world of AI advancements, where new models and upgrades are constantly being rolled out.
Initially introduced at WWDC 24, the enhanced Siri was expected to bring artificial intelligence enhancements to the virtual assistant found on iPhones and other Apple devices. The update promised to allow Siri to understand personal contexts such as relationships, communications, routines, and more, making it more useful by enabling actions within and across apps.
Despite reports from Bloomberg indicating that a functional version of the updated Siri was in development, quality issues plagued the assistant, causing it to operate correctly only two-thirds of the time. These issues rendered the update non-viable for release, prompting Apple to officially announce a delay in March.
As part of the effort to get back on track, Apple reassigned leadership of the Siri project, placing Mike Rockwell in charge. This move signaled the company’s commitment to improving its AI technology and catching up to competitors like OpenAI and Google.
In the interim, Apple partnered with OpenAI to bridge the technology gap. Users who posed questions to Siri that the assistant couldn’t answer were directed to ChatGPT for responses. Additionally, Apple updated its AI image generation app, Image Playground, to incorporate ChatGPT in preparation for the upcoming iOS 26 release.
At this year’s WWDC, Apple continued to make strides in AI technology, promising developer access to on-device foundation models, live translation services, enhancements to Genmoji and Visual Intelligence, an AI “Workout Buddy” for Apple Watch users, AI integration in Xcode, and an updated, AI-powered version of the Shortcuts app for scripting and automation.
