Apple targets spring 2026 for release of delayed Siri AI upgrade
Apple has set an internal release target of spring 2026 for its delayed upgrade of Siri, marking a key step in its artificial intelligence turnaround effort.
The company's Siri team is aiming to bring the revamped voice assistant to market as part of an iOS 26.4 software update, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The long-promised changes will allow Siri to tap into consumers' personal data and on-screen activities to better fulfil queries.
Apple's '.4' updates – known as 'E' on the company's internal software development schedule – are typically released in March. That was the case with iOS 18.4 this year and iOS 17.4 in 2024. But an exact date has not been set internally for the software, beyond a spring time frame, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is private.
Apple, in response to a request for comment, said it has not announced exact timing for the new Siri features. It reiterated earlier statements that the upgrades are planned for the 'coming year'.
The timeline could still shift depending on whether new snags emerge. If the next several weeks of development work proves promising, the company could consider giving a preview of the features when it launches the next iPhones in the fall, one of the people said, though no final decisions have been made.
The upgrade has been a long time coming. Apple originally introduced the next-generation Siri features at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June of last year. The idea was to modernise the voice assistant – first introduced in 2011 – which has not kept pace with chatbots and other AI tools.
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