Apple ‘ran into issues’ testing more personalized and smarter version of Siri planned for iOS 26.4, reports Bloomberg. Due to the issues, upcoming Siri features will be expanded to several upcoming iOS releases and not all will be available in the iOS 26.4 Spring Update.
Apple could delay some or all of the new Siri features until iOS 26.5, an update planned for May, and iOS 27, which will launch this September.
We have been waiting for a version of Apple Intelligence Siri since iOS 18, when Apple made its debut at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference. At the time, it was speculated to launch in the spring of 2025. When spring came, Apple announced that the new Siri would take longer than expected, with the feature delayed by a year.
Since then, Apple has focused on iOS 26.4, which the company will begin testing later this month. Because Apple was testing an updated version of Siri before the release of the first iOS 26.4 beta, there were some unexpected issues. Siri sometimes does not handle queries correctly and may take too long to respond to requests.
Apple engineers have been told to use iOS 26.5 for further internal testing, suggesting that new Siri features will be delayed until this update. Internally, iOS 26.5 includes a notice describing the features of Siri as well as a “preview” switch to turn on the Siri customization feature that allows the personal assistant to dig into user data such as text messages and emails.
Employees testing iOS 26.5 say the update includes all the features Apple promised, including personalization, on-screen awareness and the ability for Siri to do more within and between apps, but not all features work reliably and there are accuracy issues.
Siri will also apparently revert to using ChatGPT for information at some point instead of relying on the Gemini-powered technology that Apple uses in partnership with Google, although the new version of Siri is capable of handling a user request.
Apple also planned to include features that had not been announced, such as image generation or web search capabilities. Image generation and web search were tested as part of iOS 26.4 and it’s possible that they will still be included in the update, so Apple may still be able to announce some new Siri features. Image generation uses Image Playground and web search summarizes information from the web.
Bloomberg says the situation is “fluid,” so Apple’s plans could change, and executives are reluctant to further delay Siri beyond spring 2026.
Big changes are still planned for iOS 27, with Apple looking to add chatbot functionality to Siri to better compete with chatbots like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT. This version of Siri will have deep integration with Apple operating systems.