Apple originally planned to release its AI-driven Siri upgrade in April this year as part of the iOS18.4, as was stated in last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). However, the company reportedly faced some blocks along the way, as the upgrade was initially delayed to May at the earliest, before being postponed once again to 2026.
Now, via a report by The New York Times (NYT), Apple might be launching the Siri upgrade during fall this year, which starts in September. According to the report, it was initially delayed due to an internal testing that found it “inaccurate on nearly a third of requests”. After a reported revamp of its Siri team, including its developers, the company is now apparently back on track for its upgrade release at the end of this year.
Some of the main causes that led to the Siri delay, as claimed by the NYT, was internal conflict. One example was an apparent miscommunication regarding the requests of AI chips that are used to build AI systems. The differing budget approvals left Apple developers to use the ones from Google, instead of the more in-demand NVIDIA chips.
Apple’s new Siri upgrade will apparently have better onscreen awareness, and a deeper app integration, being able to carry out more complex requests across different apps. Additionally, it will also reportedly understand its user in a more personal context, by tracking emails, texts, messages and photos to complete tasks in an organised way. The NYT states that it will also be capable of “editing and sending a photo to a friend on request”.
(Sources: The New York Times, MacRumors)
Manisha Dharmendra contributed to this article.
