Siri-ously delayed: Apple pushes Siri AI improvements to 2026

Apple executives have confirmed that Siri’s long-awaited AI upgrades will not arrive until 2026, providing the most specific timeline yet for features that were originally planned for iOS 18. The confirmation comes from Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, during a recent interview with Tom’s Guide, marking a significant delay that pushes the enhanced Siri capabilities well beyond this year and likely into spring 2026 with iOS 26.4.

What you should know: Apple has been deliberately vague about Siri’s AI upgrade timeline until now, using phrases like “in the coming year” without committing to specific dates.

• When first delayed in March, Apple said it anticipated “rolling them out in the coming year,” leaving uncertainty about whether that meant 2025 or within 12 months.
• During WWDC, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, maintained similar ambiguous language, saying Apple looked forward to “sharing more about it in the coming year.”

The confirmation: Tom’s Guide’s Mark Spoonauer pressed Apple executives twice for a specific 2026 timeline during the recent interview.

• After Federighi initially deflected with an explanation of what caused the delays, Spoonauer repeated the question directly.
• Spoonauer: “So instead of an actual release date, is it okay to say 2026?”
• Joz: “Yeah, that’s what we said, yeah.”

What this means: The 2026 confirmation effectively rules out any hope of seeing Siri’s new AI features in iOS 26, 26.1, or even 26.2.

• Federighi notably looked to Joz before the marketing executive answered, suggesting careful consideration of the response.
• A spring 2026 release around iOS 26.4 now appears most likely based on Apple’s typical software release schedule.

The big picture: This delay represents a significant setback for Apple’s AI ambitions, as competitors continue advancing their voice assistant capabilities while Siri remains in development limbo for nearly two years after its initial announcement.