The general expectation was that it would arrive this spring.
Apple users eagerly awaiting a more advanced and personalized Siri will need to exercise a bit more patience. In a statement to Daring Fireball, Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy acknowledged that the company needs more time to refine these ambitious new features:
“Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we’ve made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We’ve also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. 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 announcement may come as a disappointment for users who were expecting significant upgrades to Siri this spring. Apple initially introduced its vision for a smarter, more intuitive Siri at WWDC last year, promising features like context awareness and the ability to take action based on what’s on the user’s screen. At the time, Apple suggested these capabilities would roll out gradually over the following year — a timeline that now appears to be slipping.
Behind the Scenes: Why the Delay?
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the delay isn’t just about polishing a few rough edges. Apple executives, including software head Craig Federighi, reportedly raised serious concerns about the new features during internal testing. The features allegedly didn’t perform reliably or live up to expectations, leading to discussions about whether they might need to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Insiders within Apple’s AI division have even suggested that some elements of the project could be scrapped entirely if they fail to meet Apple’s notoriously high standards. Gurman reported that a truly modern, conversational version of Siri may not debut until iOS 20 — if everything goes according to plan.
The Vision for a Smarter Siri
Despite the setbacks, Apple remains committed to transforming Siri into a more capable and proactive assistant. The planned updates aim to make Siri more contextually aware, enabling it to understand what users are doing in an app and offer helpful actions without explicit commands. For example, Siri might automatically draft a message, summarize an article, or suggest relevant calendar events based on what’s displayed on your screen.
These advancements are intended to bring Siri closer to the experience offered by modern AI chatbots, bridging the gap between Apple’s assistant and competitors like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa — not to mention third-party integrations like ChatGPT.
A Bump in the Road or a Necessary Reset?
For Apple, delaying features to ensure they work seamlessly isn’t unusual. The company has a history of pushing back releases to refine user experiences rather than rushing unfinished products to market. While the delay may be frustrating for users, it could ultimately lead to a more reliable and polished Siri when the updates finally arrive.
In the meantime, users can still take advantage of the improvements already made, including Siri’s enhanced conversational abilities, expanded product knowledge, and the recent ChatGPT integration.
Apple hasn’t clarified what “the coming year” means in concrete terms, but it’s clear that the company is taking the extra time to get things right. Whether that means seeing the upgraded Siri alongside iOS 19 or having to wait until iOS 20 remains to be seen — but when it finally arrives, the hope is that it will be worth the wait.
Would you rather Apple release an unfinished Siri, or do you appreciate their commitment to perfection? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
