Apple has announced a delay in its AI-powered overhaul of Siri, now expected to roll out in the coming year. Initially introduced in 2024, this upgrade promised to enhance Siri’s personalization and capabilities as a virtual assistant. Typically, Apple does not delay products after their announcement, making this situation somewhat unusual.
On Friday, the company confirmed the delay, with spokesperson Jacqueline Roy stating, “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features, and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.” This is not the first instance of Apple delaying a product post-announcement, but such occurrences are rare. For example, in 2016, the release of AirPods was postponed from October until December, and the white iPhone 4 was launched 10 months after the black version in 2011. Additionally, there was a notable instance in which Apple canceled a product altogether; after announcing its AirPower wireless charging mat in 2017, the tech company ultimately decided not to proceed, citing that it would “not achieve our high standards.”
When the Siri overhaul was first presented at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2024, Apple emphasized the AI-powered assistant’s ability to handle more complex queries by utilizing personal context. Following the inclusion of various AI features in iOS 18 starting in October, Apple hinted at the introduction of new languages for Siri in the spring, though a specific launch date for the revamped assistant was not provided. Since the 2024 announcement, Siri has seen minor updates, such as integration with ChatGPT, the ability to type questions, and improvements in conversational abilities.
In September, prior to the release of the iPhone 16, Apple showcased an advertisement featuring actor Bella Ramsey, illustrating Siri’s enhanced capabilities to pull information from the Calendar app to help Ramsey recall names. Now, it appears that the eagerly awaited upgrade may not be available on iPhones until 2026 or with the next iteration of its iOS operating system.
