iOS 26 should finally deliver Apple's long-promised Siri upgrade in the new year, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims things are still looking grim in Cupertino for this update.
This update, informally known as "Siri 2.0," has been promised since the original Apple Intelligence announcement in the summer of 2024. After delays, these features have been tipped to finally arrive in iOS 26.4, expected to be made available in spring 2026.
However, as Gurman says in his latest Power On newsletter: "Already, there are concerns from people testing iOS 26.4 — the OS version slated to include the new Siri — about the voice assistant’s performance."
We aren't told the precise reasons for these unnamed testers' fears, which makes it hard to gauge how serious these feelings are. But it's not what you want to hear about an already-troubled feature as its debut approaches.
Apple Intelligence — a tale of woe
Apple hasn't had an easy time with AI features, even if the currently available Apple Intelligence features can perform well enough. There's been discontent from users as well as from within the company about how several of the headline features, such as the Siri revamp, still aren't present.
The all-new Siri is meant to make use of a new Personal Context system to draw key details from your apps, and have the ability to complete in-app tasks while being aware of what's on screen. This was first meant to launch in iOS 18.4 earlier this year, but Apple chose to delay it for a further year to guarantee the features met its expected standards.
This only piles on top of previous issues with existing features, like notification summaries inaccurately portraying major news events.
While we're approaching the end of 2025, iOS 26.4 isn't going to land until well into 2026. There's still time for Apple to turn things around, although the longer it takes to work on the new Siri, the further ahead its Android phone competition will get.
If you're curious about new iPhone features you can actually use right now, you can take a look at what's in the iOS 26.1 beta, the next iOS update in the pipeline.
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