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Apple’s long-promised Siri upgrade, originally showcased at WWDC 2024, is now expected to debut in spring 2026, likely as part of iOS 26.4, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. While the company hasn’t confirmed a precise release date, past iOS updates suggest a rollout around March is probable.
The revamped Siri is expected to incorporate upgraded large language model (LLM) capabilities and a contextual “App Intents” system. Once released, the hope is that Siri will be able to better interpret on-screen content and user context, like their real-world surroundings, enabling commands like “send this photo to…,” or “schedule a call based on that email”.
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AppleInsider reports that this marks the first phase of a broader “Apple Intelligence” strategy. The future roadmap includes:
- A “Knowledge” chatbot, codenamed internally, which would tap the web for broader information. This is like what Siri is now but more advanced.
- An always‑on Siri copilot, designed for conversational, proactive assistance throughout the OS. Siri can also already do this, it’s just not very good compared to competitors.
Quite why Apple has struggled to get Siri to understand and engage in more natural conversations is unclear, but they should probably get it sorted quickly. Mark polled our newsletter subscribers last week, asking what people actually wanted from AI on smartphones. The standout winning answer was a genuinely helpful personal assistant. If Apple can get Siri up to scratch, it can turn Apple Intelligence into a win.
Apple’s internal systems architecture appears to have been a major hurdle. The existing Siri framework, combining legacy routines and new AI modules, has struggled to integrate smoothly, causing bugs and performance issues. Changes in leadership, such as shifting ownership to internal teams, including Robby Walker under Federighi, and tighter engineering standards, have further slowed progress.
Apple executives, including Craig Federighi, have defended the cautious rollout, saying the company prefers depth and quality over rushing to match competitors. That said, investor response has been muted, with Apple’s shares dipping amid concerns that Siri’s stagnation hurts its AI credentials.
AI in the Ecosystem
Though the full Siri update is delayed, Apple did expand its Apple Intelligence toolset at WWDC 2025. Upcoming iOS 26 features include live translation during calls, enhanced Image Playground features, and early integration of ChatGPT options. These represent smaller, task-specific uses of AI rather than a unified assistant though, once again highlighting how far Apple is behind something like Gemini or Galaxy AI.
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The remaining problem for Apple is that, yes, a Siri update will be most welcome. But by the time it rolls around, will other manufacturers be even further ahead yet again? Playing catch up is never easy.
