Apple Delays Siri AI Revamp Amid Engineering Hurdles

Apple is reportedly delaying its plans to revamp its AI assistant Siri, part of the rollout of Apple Intelligence, amid engineering problems and software bugs.

The company is “still racing to finish the software,” according to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, and employees testing the new Siri have found many new “features don’t yet work consistently.” As a result, some features originally pegged for the April rollout of iOS 18.4 may not land until May or later, following the rollout of iOS 18.5.

Apple is reportedly also mulling over the idea of keeping the planned new features in Siri but keeping them turned off by default in iOS 18.4 before enabling them automatically in iOS 18.5, giving them some time to fine-tune the technology.

Apple had been promising plenty of new features for Siri as part of Apple Intelligence, including better “onscreen awareness” and the ability to action users’ requests across apps. Bloomberg notes how during previous demonstrations, Apple has showed Siri being able to perform personal assistant-style tasks such as quickly locating a user’s flight and lunch reservation plans by accessing the iPhone’s email and message history. But according to Gurman, this personal assistant-style functionality is one of the features at risk of being delayed.

This isn’t the first time Siri’s AI revamp has been pushed back. Siri’s new Apple Intelligence features had originally been pegged to debut last fall. Meanwhile, if you’re waiting for a supercharged version of Siri comparable to ChatGPT, known as “Siri LLM,” you might be waiting until spring 2026, according to Gurman.

But regardless of recent setbacks, Siri has more AI functionality than it did just a few months ago. When Apple Intelligence debuted with iOS 18.1 in November, it displayed some significant improvements, particularly in the field of Apple-specific knowledge or when users stumbled over their words. And if Apple Intelligence isn’t enough in its current state, Apple now allows users to add OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI to their devices, to lend a helping hand when Apple Intelligence falters.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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