Apple's much-anticipated overhaul of its Siri voice assistant, powered by advanced AI and the new Apple Foundation Models, has become the subject of mounting speculation, frustration, and—depending on whom you ask—embarrassment. Despite persistent rumors of internal struggles and delays, Apple maintains that it is "still on track to launch in 2026," according to a brief but pointed statement provided to CNBC on February 13, 2026. Yet, as the tech world watches closely, the timeline for Siri’s evolution—and the ripple effects on a suite of upcoming Apple products—remains anything but clear-cut.
The saga began in earnest back in June 2024, when Apple first announced a sweeping AI-driven upgrade to Siri, promising enhanced personalization, proactive capabilities, and deep integration with apps and user data. The company initially intended to roll these features out with iOS 18 that year. However, as TechRadar reported, nearly two years later, much of that functionality is still missing in action. The latest word from insiders, including Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, is that several core features—such as voice-based control of in-app actions and the expanded ability for Siri to search personal data—won’t arrive until iOS 26.5 in May 2026 or, in some cases, iOS 27 in September 2026.
“The most likely features to slip are ‘voice-based control of in-app actions,’ and ‘the expanded ability for Siri to tap into personal data,’ which, as Gurman explains, ‘would let users ask the assistant to, say, search old text messages to locate a podcast shared by a friend and immediately play it,’” TechRadar noted. That means some users who upgraded to the iPhone 16-series specifically for these promised capabilities have been left waiting for nearly two years—and counting.
The delays have sparked dramatic reactions from analysts and the stock market, as AppleInsider observed. The company, typically tight-lipped about internal development, has nonetheless continued to hype the Siri relaunch in statements and earnings calls, suggesting no catastrophic setbacks behind the scenes. Still, the anonymous tips and leaks that surfaced in late 2025 and early 2026 painted a picture of a project grappling with technical hurdles and shifting internal deadlines. Some reports even confused an internal feature flag for a delay indicator, muddying the waters further.
Amid the uncertainty, one thing is clear: the new Siri, powered by Gemini-trained Apple Foundation Models, is expected to be significantly more functional than what was demoed at WWDC 2024. According to AppleInsider, the assistant will leverage app intents to perform device functions and infer relationships, aiming to leapfrog current capabilities. But the exact feature set for the imminent iOS 26.4 beta remains unknown, and it’s widely understood that not everything will arrive in a single update. As AppleInsider put it, “It never seemed like everything was going to arrive with a pretty bow with iOS 26.4, and even then, nothing has been promised or announced beyond ‘coming in 2026.’”
The ramifications of Siri’s delays extend well beyond the voice assistant itself. As BGR and MacRumors have reported, several upcoming Apple products are now in limbo because they depend on the new AI-powered Siri. These include the long-rumored smart home hub, dubbed "HomePad," a smart doorbell, a new Apple TV 4K, and Apple’s first-generation AR Glasses. The HomePad, originally slated for March 2025, is envisioned as a hybrid between a HomePod speaker and an iPad, featuring a 6 or 7-inch square display and Apple’s A18 chip. Its seamless control of apps and smart devices relies heavily on the new Siri and the App Intents API. Meanwhile, the smart doorbell, which could incorporate ultra wide-band chip technology for hands-free unlocking with an iPhone, is designed to integrate tightly with the HomePad ecosystem.
The new Apple TV 4K, set to include the A17 Pro chip and support for Apple Intelligence features, is similarly delayed, with its release now pegged for 2026. As for the AR Glasses, Bloomberg reports that this device will feature speakers, cameras, and voice control via Siri, potentially adding health sensors in future versions. However, given that control will be limited to a single button and voice commands, any further delay to Siri could push the launch of these glasses into late 2026 or even 2027.
For Apple, the stakes are high—not just in terms of product launches, but also reputation. As TechRadar’s James Peckham pointed out, “Siri’s long-promised AI overhaul is becoming a huge embarrassment for Apple… none of these issues dragged on for quite as long as the current Siri debacle.” The comparison to past Apple controversies like ‘antennagate’ and ‘bendgate’ is telling, but the drawn-out nature of the Siri delays is what truly sets this episode apart. Even before the AI arms race, Siri was often considered less capable than rivals like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, and now, with Google’s Gemini already powering advanced features on Android, the gap appears wider than ever.
Ironically, Apple’s solution to narrowing that gap has been to partner with Google, making Gemini the backbone of Siri’s intelligence moving forward. While this collaboration should, in theory, help Apple catch up, it hasn’t yet translated into faster delivery of promised features. According to MacRumors, iOS 27 will finally introduce a full Siri chatbot capable of back-and-forth conversations, bringing the assistant closer in spirit to ChatGPT and Gemini. The update will also roll out new Apple Intelligence features, including enhancements to the Calendar app, and may finally deliver some of the personalized Siri capabilities first announced in 2024 but repeatedly delayed.
Other new features on the horizon for iOS 27 include support for 5G satellite internet connectivity—though this will reportedly be limited to the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models with Apple’s next-generation C2 modem. Users can also look forward to satellite-powered Apple Maps and the ability to send and receive photos via Messages over satellite. Apple is said to be focusing on bug fixes, stability improvements, and design enhancements, aiming for a more reliable and polished user experience overall. Beta testing for iOS 27 is expected to begin during WWDC in June 2026, with a general release in September.
As for the much-discussed Apple Health+ subscription, which was once rumored to deliver personalized, AI-powered health and fitness recommendations, the company has reportedly scaled back its ambitions. Instead, only select features may trickle out in future updates, with the original all-in-one subscription either delayed or discontinued.
For now, Apple’s official line remains measured but optimistic. The company insists that the new Siri and its associated products are "still on track to launch in 2026," but with so many moving parts and a history of shifting deadlines, customers and investors alike are watching closely—and perhaps a bit warily. The upcoming iOS 26.4 beta may offer the first concrete glimpse of what’s to come, but for those hoping for a Siri revolution, the wait continues.
Apple’s journey to reinvent Siri has been anything but smooth, but as the company pushes forward, all eyes remain on whether it can finally deliver the AI-powered assistant—and ecosystem—it has so long promised.