Apple Just Delayed Siri’s Smartest Feature — And It Might Never Arrive
- Siri’s much-hyped AI upgrade just hit a wall.
- Apple execs have pulled the plug, saying it's not ready (and maybe never will be).
- If you were excited for a truly smart Siri, buckle up—it’s gonna be a long wait.
Apple's ambitious plans to revamp Siri with deeper personalization and app control have hit a roadblock. The company confirmed today, via a statement to Daring Fireball, that the long-awaited "more personalized Siri" will not arrive as initially expected in iOS 18.4 or 18.5. Instead, the feature has been pushed back to "the coming year," leaving many to speculate that it won’t launch until iOS 19 or beyond.
Photo via MobileSyrup // Apple's new Siri revamp has been delayed internally, new reliable reports suggest.
What’s Delayed?
The delay affects three major Apple Intelligence features:
- Onscreen Awareness – Allows Siri to understand and interact with what's displayed on your screen, enabling commands like "Add this person to my contacts."
- Personal Context – Gives Siri access to personal messages, calendar events, and other user data to provide more relevant responses.
- App Intents – Enables Siri to execute actions across multiple apps, such as retrieving flight details from a third-party app and sharing them via text.
These features were highlighted as key innovations when Apple Intelligence was unveiled at WWDC, with the expectation that they would roll out gradually over the next year. However, this timeline has now shifted significantly.
Photo via MacStories // Several long-awaited Apple Intelligence features may be delayed indefinitely, including Onscreen Awareness, Personal Context and App Intents, announced by Apple at last year's WWDC'24.
What Went Wrong?
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple executives, including Craig Federighi, expressed "strong concerns internally" over the features' functionality, stating they didn't perform as expected in internal tests. Some within Apple’s AI division reportedly believe that the features may need to be rebuilt from scratch—or even scrapped entirely.
Security concerns could be a major factor. LLM expert Simon Willison suggested that Apple's AI-driven Siri might be vulnerable to prompt injection attacks, where malicious inputs could manipulate the assistant into unauthorized actions. Apple has historically prioritized security, sometimes at the cost of user experience, which could explain why the company is reconsidering its approach.
A Pattern of AI Struggles
Apple Intelligence has faced a rocky rollout. The iPhone 16 was heavily marketed as "built for Apple Intelligence," yet none of its advertised AI features were available at launch. Features have been trickling out in updates, but setbacks continue:
- News summaries were temporarily disabled after inaccurate alerts.
- The Sketch option was pulled from Image Playground.
- Siri's ChatGPT integration remains limited, while competitors like Google and OpenAI push ahead.
Gurman also reported that a truly "modernized, conversational Siri" might not debut until iOS 20—possibly in 2027. Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini and Samsung’s Galaxy AI are already reshaping user expectations for mobile assistants.
Photo via BGR // Apple Intelligence ChatGPT integration, announced at WWDC'24.
The Bigger Picture
Apple now finds itself in a familiar position: playing catch-up. The company was reportedly blindsided by the rapid rise of LLMs while it focused on Vision Pro, and the AI revolution has forced it to rethink its strategy.
With WWDC 2025 approaching, Apple will need to address growing concerns over its AI roadmap. Will it invest in more powerful on-device models? Shift more tasks to Private Cloud Compute? Or rethink how Siri integrates with apps entirely?
For now, one thing is clear: The only Apple Intelligence feature users were truly excited about is nowhere close to launch.
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Published to Apple Scoop on 8th March, 2025.
