Apple's AI-powered Siri postponed again, now due in March 2026
What's the story
Apple is pushing the release of its advanced AI-powered Siri voice assistant to 2026, according to Bloomberg. The tech giant had first previewed the upgraded version at WWDC 2024 last year, but later announced a delay in March this year. The company said it would take longer than expected to deliver new Siri features and "we anticipate" rolling them out "in the coming year."
Timeline clarification
iOS 26.4 likely to be released in March 2026
In a recent interview, Greg Joswiak, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, clarified that the company is targeting 2026 for the release of AI-powered Siri. The tech giant had initially planned to launch the upgraded Siri with the iPhone 16 lineup in fall 2024. However, this plan was pushed back. Now it appears that iOS 26.4 could be released in March 2026, based on past trends, though the exact date has not been decided internally by Apple.
Delay defense
Apple executives defend delay of AI-powered Siri
Apple executives have defended the delay of AI-powered Siri, emphasizing their commitment to quality over speed. Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, said that while they had a two-phased plan for delivering a great Siri experience, the second version wasn't ready yet. He stressed that they didn't want to ship something that didn't meet their high standards and risk disappointing customers.
AI strategy
There's no need to rush out with the wrong products
Federighi said that Apple sees AI as a long-term transformational wave, not just a tech trend. He added, "There's no need to rush out with the wrong features and the wrong product just to be first." This statement emphasizes Apple's strategic approach toward integrating intelligence across its operating systems instead of creating a standalone chatbot like ChatGPT.