Apple is still planning to launch the smarter, more capable version of Siri in 2026, the company told CNBC today. Apple's statement comes just a day after Bloomberg reported Apple is having issues with the updated version of Siri, leading to potential delays of the feature.
Apple initially intended to launch the Apple Intelligence-powered version of Siri in spring 2025, but right around when a debut was expected in March 2025, Apple said that Siri wasn't ready and needed more time. Later in the year, Apple said that it would launch its Siri update in 2026.
Though Apple never gave a timeline more specific than "2026," Bloomberg said the company was aiming to include Siri in iOS 26.4, an update planned for spring 2026. Bloomberg's latest report suggests the Siri functionality will not be ready in time to be included in iOS 26.4, so the new features could be pushed to iOS 26.5 or iOS 27.
Apple may miss its internal target for the 2026 Siri launch, but since the company never publicly gave timing beyond 2026, there's no actual delay yet. Apple has until December 2026 to launch Siri within the timeframe that it promised in summer of 2025.
Back in June 2024, Apple previewed three new Siri features, including onscreen awareness, personal context, and the ability to do more in and between apps. Apple has since started working on additional Siri features like image generation and a tool for searching the web.
In Apple's testing, Siri apparently sometimes doesn't process queries properly, and can take too long to respond to requests. Features are not working as intended, so Siri's new capabilities could roll out across several updates. We could still get one or two new Siri features in iOS 26.4, with other features set to come in future updates slated for 2026. There are still several iOS 26 updates planned for 2026, and iOS 27 will launch in September 2026.
Apple provided CNBC with a statement because the company's stock dropped five percent today, both due to the Siri delay rumors and FTC scrutiny over Apple News.
Apple is likely to release the first beta of iOS 26.4 later this month, giving us more insight into the Siri launch situation.