It is Groundhog Day for Siri yet again. Apple plans another in a long series of delays to the Siri AI upgrade, according to a Bloomberg report released on Wednesday. The reinvented Siri upgrade voice assistant, including AI features reminiscent of Alexa Plus, has been delayed from the March iPhone iOS 24.6 update to a release later this year, potentially in May, September or later. Following repeated delays after announcing the advanced Siri in 2024, Apple gave a broad 2026 timeline. Now, the latest internal testing shows Siri still is not up to the task.

What Features Are Holding Super Siri Up?

Much of what Bloomberg reports is similar to what we heard last year. The new Siri AI is too slow, struggles with complex commands, and is not meshing well with Apple’s own AI models or with services like ChatGPT. Here is a more complete picture of the problems.

Issues with data access

Bloomberg reports that Apple is pulling back on plans to have Apple Siri delay scanning more personal data, such as reviewing your old text messages to find a shared song or podcast.

• The feature may come later, but for now it is being delayed
• Consumer concerns over AI privacy may be playing a role
• Apple is being cautious about how much personal data Siri can access

This cautious approach protects user privacy but slows down development.

App intents not reliable yet

Intents are Apple’s version of letting Siri features complete in-app tasks. For example, Apple wants Siri to be able to find a photo, apply a filter, and post it to your socials or message it to a friend, all in one command.

• This feature does not appear reliable yet in testing
• Multi-step commands are still too complex for the current build
• Seamless integration across apps remains a challenge

Getting this right is crucial for a truly useful voice assistant AI.

Siri gets terse and interrupts users

Bloomberg contacts also report that Siri AI is acting up when receiving especially quick or complex commands.

• Siri interrupts users before they can finish speaking
• The assistant sometimes requires a complete restart
• Complex commands trigger unpredictable behavior

These user experience issues make the current version frustrating to test.

Why Is Apple So Late To The Voice Assistant AI?

I have already been experimenting with Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home for months, and I like the results so far. That raises the question of why Apple’s own venture into this space has taken so long.

Apple invested less in LLMs early on

While I cannot read the minds of Apple developers, it is clear that Apple invested less in LLMs and generative AI than Google and Amazon did at the start.

• Google and Amazon had multi-year head starts
• Apple is now moving very cautiously into this technology
• Catching up takes time, especially with Apple’s quality standards

The gap was significant, and closing it requires patience.

Apple wants a highly polished product

Given that Alexa Plus does not always know what it can or cannot do and Gemini for Home still struggles with voice chats, I can see why Apple Siri delay may want to wait for a highly polished product.

• Apple has a reputation for releasing finished products, not betas
• Competitors launched early with rough edges
• Apple prefers to delay rather than disappoint

For many users, waiting for quality is preferable to getting buggy features now.

No problem taking time

Since Apple has been delaying these advanced versions of Siri features for well over a year already, it is clear the company has no problem taking its time.

• Apple will wait until it finds a version of Siri AI it is happy with
• Internal testing continues to reveal new issues
• The slow climb to public release continues

According to Bloomberg’s report, we could start seeing betas for these new Siri upgrade features in iOS 26.5 or iOS 27.

The Bottom Line On The Siri AI Delay

The Siri AI upgrade has been delayed again, this time to late 2026 at the earliest. The current version, dubbed Linwood, combines Apple’s own large language model with technology from Google’s Gemini AI. But issues with lag time, data access, app intents and user interaction are holding it back. Apple invested less in voice assistant AI early on and is now moving cautiously to deliver a polished product. While competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home are already available, Apple is choosing to wait. For now, Apple Siri delay fans will need to stay patient. The Siri upgrade will come eventually, just not as soon as anyone hoped.