According to Bloomberg, a major upgrade for Apple's Siri digital assistant, originally scheduled to launch with iOS 18.4, may now face delays or limited functionality. The updates, which are based on artificial intelligence technology, aim to significantly enhance Siri's performance but have encountered engineering challenges and software bugs.
Apple first announced the new upgrade plans for Siri at its developer conference last June and showcased some of the new features to users. However, insiders revealed that due to tight development schedules, some functions initially planned for release in April might be postponed until May or later.
This update is seen as a key component of Apple's intelligent platform, aiming to help the company catch up with competitors in the AI field and drive iPhone upgrades. Even before this upgrade, Apple's smart platform faced numerous setbacks during its rollout. Since its debut in October of last year, the platform has released several software versions in stages, but some features, such as news summaries, have been criticized due to bugs.
For Apple, the success of Siri is crucial. Since its launch in 2011, Siri has been regarded as a revolutionary user interface. However, with the rapid development of competitors, Siri has increasingly exposed weaknesses in Apple's AI capabilities.
The original plan for this Siri upgrade included three major improvements: access to user data for more accurate responses and actions, introduction of a new system for better app control, and the ability to view the current device screen content to provide context-aware services. Apple hinted that these enhancements would be launched in 2025, though no specific timeline was confirmed. Internally, the plan was to roll out these technologies as part of iOS 18.4, which is expected to be released in April.
However, Apple is currently considering postponing at least part of the upgrade to iOS 18.5, possibly launching in May. Insiders revealed that instability issues found during testing have put Apple under significant time pressure. Although the public version of iOS 18.4 is not due until April, the developer beta is expected to be released next week.
An alternative option is to include these features in the April release but keep them disabled by default. Apple could then automatically enable them in the iOS 18.5 system update. However, this approach might impact other Apple products, particularly an upcoming smart home hub device that relies on the upgraded app intent control function.
Despite aggressive marketing of its smart platform, Apple faces harsh realities internally: the platform's AI technology lags behind competitors like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Alphabet's Google Gemini, and Meta's Llama. Apple's AI and machine learning teams have struggled to meet deadlines, with some engineers believing the system was rushed to market to cater to Wall Street's fascination with AI.
Apple CEO Tim Cook stated in last month's earnings call that the company will "continue to invest in innovation" and emphasized the importance of software. However, unexpected declines in iPhone sales during the holiday quarter by about 1% suggest that AI features have not significantly boosted sales. Cook noted that the new iPhone 16 performed better in countries where Apple's smart platform is available.
Insiders revealed that Apple is considering restructuring its AI and machine learning team. Recently, long-time software executive Kim Vrattos was appointed to a senior position within the team, which is led by former Google executive John Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018.
This Siri upgrade is just one part of Apple's broader efforts to make the assistant more conversational and closer to the level of ChatGPT. According to Bloomberg, a more ambitious upgrade plan could be rolled out as early as 2026. Additionally, Apple is preparing a major software update related to the fall release of iPhone 17, but delays in iOS 18 features are affecting the entire development process. In some cases, features originally planned for release by the end of this year in iOS 19 may be postponed until 2026.
