AI-Powered Siri Update Delayed: Apple Falls Behind Competitors
At this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2025 (WWDC 25), Apple showcased various updates but noticeably withheld crucial information regarding its anticipated personalized AI-driven virtual assistant, Siri.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, hinted at progress in making Siri more personal during his keynote address. “While we continue to enhance Siri’s functionalities for a more personalized experience, achieving our benchmarks of quality requires additional development time. We aim to provide updates in the upcoming year.” This delay could push the launch of AI-integrated Siri to 2026, a considerable setback at a time when AI advancements progress swiftly across the tech landscape.
The more personalized Siri, first teased during WWDC 24, was anticipated to refine interaction by interpreting users’ personal contexts, such as relationships and daily routines, thereby enhancing its utility across Apple devices. Reports from Bloomberg indicated that although a beta version was operational, functionality issues limited effectiveness, with Siri performing optimally only two-thirds of the time. This inconsistency rendered the assistant unfit for public release.
In March, Apple officially announced a postposed timeline for Siri’s debut, citing complexities in delivering the update as initially planned. This announcement accompanied strategic changes in leadership; John Giannandrea, the former head of AI Strategy, was replaced on the Siri project by Mike Rockwell, who previously oversaw the Vision Pro.
This shift reflects Apple’s desire to catch up with competitors such as OpenAI and Google, raising concerns among investors about the company’s AI capabilities. To mitigate these concerns, Apple has partnered with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT technologies, aimed at enhancing query handling when Siri encounters limitations in functionality. For iOS 26, the integration of ChatGPT into their Image Playground AI application was also announced, signaling a broader commitment to AI enhancements across the platform.
During WWDC 25, Apple continued to emphasize innovations in AI, promising developers access to new on-device AI models and introducing features for live translation across various applications. Updates also included the AI-based “Workout Buddy” for Apple Watch, enhancements to Genmoji and its Shortcuts app, and Visual Intelligence improvements designed to streamline user experiences.
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