Apple’s FALLING behind in the AI race, upgraded Siri won’t be ready until 2026 - But why?
Apple has decided to delay the launch of its much-anticipated AI-powered Siri upgrade until 2026, spokesperson Jacqueline Roy confirmed recently. The enhanced version of Apple’s voice assistant was expected to roll out this spring, promising more advanced AI-driven personalisation and app integration. However, the company has now pushed back the timeline, admitting that the new features aren’t quite ready yet.
The upgrade was set to bring a major overhaul to Siri, allowing it to take actions within apps and offer a more intuitive, context-aware experience. While the existing Siri already comes with features like product knowledge and integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the new version was expected to take things up a notch. But for now, Apple users will have to wait a little longer.
Aiming for perfection, but not there yet
Apple has built a reputation for fine-tuning its products until they meet the company’s high standards, and the latest delay is a reflection of that. The company explained that while progress has been made, the new Siri isn’t quite where they want it to be.
According to Apple, the past six months have seen several improvements, including making Siri more conversational and adding features like “Type to Siri” and deeper ChatGPT integration. However, the more personalised capabilities—such as greater awareness of user context and seamless cross-app functionality—are taking longer to perfect. Apple assured that these features will eventually arrive, but not as soon as originally planned.
A competitive race in AI
The delay could be a setback for Apple as it tries to keep pace with the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Rivals like OpenAI, Amazon, and Google are aggressively advancing their own AI-powered assistants, and Apple risks lagging behind.
Just last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled GPT-4.5, calling it the company’s most advanced model yet. This comes after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, which kickstarted the generative AI boom. Meanwhile, Amazon recently announced an upgraded version of Alexa, although it hasn’t hit the market yet. Google is also busy refining its Gemini assistant, aiming to integrate generative AI into everyday tasks.
AI assistants still have a long way to go
Despite the race to develop smarter virtual assistants, AI-powered voice assistants are still struggling with accuracy and reliability. Users have frequently complained about misleading responses, incorrect answers, and incomplete task automation. Even as Apple, OpenAI, Google, and Amazon push the limits of AI, the technology still has a long way to go before it can truly function as an all-knowing personal assistant.
Apple remains optimistic about Siri’s future, but for now, it’s clear that users will need to wait a bit longer before experiencing the next big leap in Apple’s AI assistant.
