Apple’s been facing setbacks with its new Siri voice assistant, first announced at the 2024 WWDC. Despite the hype, there’s been little progress. Now, Bloomberg reports that Apple aims to launch the revamped Siri in March 2026, alongside iOS 26.4. This move marks a significant step back into the AI fray.
The new Siri will be able to access users’ personal data and activities on their screen, allowing it to respond to commands more accurately. It’ll control apps and perform complex system tasks using Apple’s App Intents technology.
But what’s been holding things up? Technical issues have plagued Siri’s AI system, causing plenty of bugs and incorrect responses – almost a third of the time. Engineers had to rebuild the system from scratch, which meant the Siri feature touted for the iPhone 16 wasn’t ready for prime time.
As a result, John Giannandrea’s role was reduced, and Siri’s development was handed over to Craig Federighi and Mike Rockwell’s team, the same folks behind the Vision Pro device. Apple’s also accelerating its Siri LLM project.
These delays have had a ripple effect on other Apple products, like the smart home hub, which has been put on indefinite hold. Its operating system relies directly on the new Siri, so it’s back to the drawing board.
What’s next for Apple’s AI ambitions?
With the new Siri release on the horizon, Apple’s hoping to regain its footing in the AI race. But will it be enough to catch up with the competition?