- Apple’s major Siri AI overhaul has reportedly been delayed again.
- Some core features may not arrive until iOS 27 in 2026.
- Competitors already offer similar AI capabilities today.
- The extended delay risks damaging Apple’s reputation and user trust.
When Apple unveiled its ambitious new vision for Siri back in June 2024, the promise was clear. A smarter, more capable assistant powered by on device intelligence and deeper personal context was coming soon. At the time, Apple said it would arrive with iOS 18. Fast forward to 2026 and that promise still feels out of reach.
Fresh reports now suggest that some of Siri’s most important new AI features will miss iOS 26.4 and instead slip to iOS 26.5 or even iOS 27. If accurate, that would put key parts of the overhaul roughly two years behind schedule. For a company that prides itself on tight execution and polished launches, that is an uncomfortable position to be in.
The most likely features to be delayed are not minor additions. They include voice based control of in app actions and the ability for Siri to dig deeper into your personal data.
The latter would allow you to ask Siri to find a podcast a friend texted you months ago and start playing it instantly. These are the headline features that were meant to redefine how we interact with the iPhone. Instead, they remain stuck in development limbo.
A promise that sold phones
This delay is not happening in a vacuum. Apple heavily promoted its new wave of AI features as a major reason to upgrade. Many users invested in the latest iPhone hardware expecting a dramatically improved Siri experience. That expectation has not yet been met.
In isolation, a software delay is frustrating but understandable. Building advanced AI tools that work reliably on millions of devices is not simple. But this is not a small patch or a niche feature. This is a complete reinvention of a product that has needed reinvention for years.
Siri has long been viewed as lagging behind rivals. Even before the current AI boom, it struggled with context, accuracy, and natural conversation compared to competing assistants. The AI overhaul was supposed to change that narrative. Instead, the continued delays risk reinforcing it.
Meanwhile, the competition moves on
While Apple fine tunes its approach, Android devices have been racing ahead with AI driven assistants that already handle many of the tasks Apple is still promising. Context aware responses, smart summaries, and seamless app control are no longer futuristic ideas. They are everyday tools for millions of users.
The gap has grown wide enough that Apple reportedly struck a deal to lean on external AI models to help power Siri. That move makes strategic sense, but it also underlines how far behind Apple found itself in this space. Even with outside help, however, the rollout has not accelerated in a meaningful way.
Technology moves quickly. A two year delay in a fast evolving field like artificial intelligence is not just a scheduling hiccup. It can mean launching into a landscape that looks completely different from the one you originally planned for.
An embarrassment Apple cannot afford
Apple has weathered its share of public missteps in the past. Hardware controversies, flawed launches, and canceled products have all tested the company’s reputation. Yet most of those episodes were intense but relatively short lived.
The Siri situation feels different because of its duration and visibility. This is not a single defective product or a temporary software bug. It is an ongoing gap between promise and delivery, playing out in one of the most talked about areas in tech.
Apple’s brand is built on trust. When it previews a feature on stage, customers expect it to arrive on time and to work beautifully. Every additional delay chips away at that confidence.
There is still time to turn the story around. If the eventual release of the new Siri is polished, reliable, and genuinely transformative, many users will forgive the wait. Apple has recovered from setbacks before by delivering products that reset expectations.
But patience is not unlimited. If further delays occur, or if the final result fails to match the ambition shown in 2024, this episode could become one of the company’s most notable stumbles.
For now, all eyes are on the next iOS updates. Siri was meant to lead Apple into a new era of personal AI. Instead, it has become a reminder that even the most powerful companies can struggle to deliver on their boldest promises.
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