iOS 26.4 could turn out to be a dud. The long-delayed artificial intelligence enhancements to Apple’s Siri digital assistant that were eagerly anticipated to launch in the next iPhone software update are reportedly nowhere near ready.
According to sources familiar with the company’s internal plans, the new features, originally planned for a spring release, are now being rolled out into several future updates while engineers work to resolve lingering technical issues.
Don’t expect iOS 26.4 to include the much-anticipated AI features
In 2024, Apple promised “the beginning of a new era for Siri” thanks to a significant infusion of artificial intelligence. The company has prepared a bright future for the voice assistant with deeper understanding of context, the ability to access personal data for smarter responses and more powerful in-app actions.
But the company struggled to turn the dream into reality. Last spring, the release had to be pushed back at least a year. And now there are said to be further delays.
Several reports in recent months have pointed out that iOS 26.4 introduces an AI-powered version of Siri. And with version 26.3 hitting iPhones worldwide on Wednesday, many were eager to soon get access to the features Apple promised so many months ago.
However, the internal test build of iOS 26.4 suffers from reliability and performance issues, leading Apple to reconsider the timing of its rollout. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The long-delayed Siri update may be coming gradually
The iPhone maker is now preparing to extend some of Siri AI’s most advanced features to later versions. Their internal testing is now said to be on iOS 26.5 – which is expected around May – which is a sign that Apple doesn’t expect them to get to an earlier version.
Some AI features may be delayed until iOS 27, planned for this fall.
One feature likely to slip out of iOS 26.4 is improved access to personal data — a feature that would allow Siri to extract information from messages and emails and fulfill complex user requests.
Apple is also reportedly struggling with one of the trickiest AI features: app intent. This would allow the user to say something like, “Hey Siri, send the email I wrote to April and Lilly,” and Siri would understand the context of the app and perform an action. When it works, of course.
“Apple employees testing iOS 26.5 say there is early support for these features, but they don’t work reliably in all cases,” they said Bloomberg.
iOS 26.4 could be a minor update
All of this means that while the first developer beta of iOS 26.4 is expected later this month with some incremental improvements to Siri, more transformative capabilities that were meant to be a significant leap forward for Siri are now apparently on the way.
To be clear, Apple has not publicly confirmed the delivery of specific features or the timing of these delayed AI features, instead promising that the new capabilities will arrive “in the coming year.”
Apple’s battle with AI continues
The continued delays underscore the difficulty Apple faces in catching up with competitors in the fast-growing generative AI space. Rivals like Google and OpenAI have introduced more sophisticated conversational assistants and chatbot interfaces, increasing the pressure on Apple to deliver a compelling upgrade to Siri.
And while Apple has turned to Google to help redesign Siri’s AI, that doesn’t appear to be a quick fix to the problem.
With developers and users alike watching closely, Apple’s ability to realize its long-promised vision of artificial intelligence remains an open question.