Apple Slides On Report Latest Attempt To Re-Launch Siri Runs Into "Snags"

Apple is sliding on a Bloomberg report that its long-planned upgrade to the Siri virtual assistant has run into new snags during testing in recent weeks, potentially pushing back the release of several highly anticipated functions.

After planning to include the new capabilities in iOS 26.4, an OS update slated for March, Apple is now working to spread them out over future versions. That would mean postponing at least some features until at least iOS 26.5, due in May, and iOS 27, which comes out in September. It wasn't immediately clear what the snags in question are. 

The latest hitches are part of a long saga for Apple, which first announced plans for the revamped Siri in June 2024. That year, the iPhone maker showed off capabilities that would let the assistant tap into personal data and on-screen content to better fulfill requests. The upgraded Siri also would let users precisely control apps from Apple and third parties via their voice. All the new features were due by early 2025.

In the spring of last year, Apple delayed the rollout, saying the new Siri would instead arrive in 2026. It never announced more specific timing. Internally, though, Apple settled on the March 2026 target - tying it to iOS 26.4 - a goal that remained in place as recently as last month. 

But testing has uncovered fresh problems with the software, prompting the latest postponements, Bloomberg reported citing sources. Siri doesn’t always properly process queries or can take too long to handle requests, they said.

In recent days, Apple instructed engineers to use the upcoming iOS 26.5 in order to test new Siri features, implying that the functionality may have been moved back by at least one release. Internal versions of that update now include a notice describing the addition of some Siri enhancements. 

One feature is especially likely to slip: the expanded ability for Siri to tap into personal data. That technology would let users ask the assistant to, say, search old text messages to locate a podcast shared by a friend and immediately play it.

Other features running behind include the most advanced commands for voice-based control of in-app actions, a system known as app intents. It would let people ask Siri to find an image, edit it and send it to a contact, all in a single command. Apple employees testing iOS 26.5 say early support for these features exists, but they don’t function reliably in all cases.

Another challenge: The new Siri sometimes falls back on its existing integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT instead of using Apple’s own technology. That can happen even when Siri should be capable of handling the request. 

Apple shares pared their gains on the news Wednesday. The stock was up 1.1% to $276.71 as of 2:52 p.m. in New York after earlier climbing as high as 2.4%.