TECH – Apple has announced a postponement of significant artificial intelligence (AI) upgrades for its voice assistant, Siri, now rescheduled for release in 2026. This delay affects features designed to enhance Siri’s personalization and contextual understanding, enabling it to perform tasks across various applications.
Initially, Apple had planned to roll out these AI-driven enhancements, collectively referred to as Apple Intelligence, in 2025. These upgrades aimed to provide Siri with advanced capabilities, such as rewriting emails, summarizing inbox content, and seamlessly interacting with different apps based on user data. For instance, users could ask Siri to play a podcast recommended by a friend or retrieve flight information from a relative, utilizing data stored on their devices.
The company has been investing in extensive cloud computing infrastructure, powered by its proprietary chips, to support these AI functionalities while maintaining its commitment to user privacy. Currently, Siri processes approximately 1.5 billion user requests daily, highlighting the scale at which these enhancements could impact user experience.
Apple’s competitors are also advancing their AI capabilities. Alphabet’s Google integrated its Gemini AI model into its assistant last year, aiming to offer more sophisticated interactions. Similarly, Amazon recently introduced an AI-driven overhaul of its Alexa assistant, providing new features free for Prime subscribers and at a monthly fee for other users.
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Despite these industry advancements, Apple has not provided specific reasons for the delay. The company acknowledged that delivering a more personalized Siri with enhanced contextual awareness is taking longer than anticipated. Apple stated, “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 postponement marks a rare public acknowledgment by Apple regarding delays in product development. Historically, the company has maintained a reputation for timely and secretive product launches. Notable exceptions include the postponement of AirPods in 2016 and the white iPhone 4 in 2011. The current delay in Siri’s AI enhancements underscores the complexities involved in developing advanced AI systems and integrating them into existing platforms.
The delay may have implications for Apple’s competitive positioning in the AI landscape. As rivals continue to enhance their voice assistants with advanced AI features, the postponement could affect user perception and adoption rates of Siri. However, Apple’s commitment to refining these features suggests a focus on delivering a robust and reliable user experience upon release.
Looking ahead, users and industry analysts will be keenly observing how Apple addresses these challenges and the impact of the delayed AI enhancements on Siri’s functionality and competitiveness in the evolving AI assistant market.
