Apple's Siri AI Upgrade Faces Delays Due to Engineering Challenges

Apple's ambitious overhaul of Siri is facing technical difficulties that could delay its rollout or result in a staggered release, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

The Next Evolution of Siri

At last year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple introduced plans for a smarter, AI-powered Siri that would be more intuitive and capable of handling complex requests. The upgraded version of Siri is expected to tap into user data more effectively, enabling tasks like:

• Finding a specific file or song mentioned in a text message
• Searching through emails and texts to retrieve flight details for a family member
• Controlling apps with more precision and context-aware actions

These enhancements are part of Apple's broader push into artificial intelligence, aiming to compete with AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

Internal Testing and Challenges

Despite its potential, the new Siri features aren’t working consistently during internal testing. Apple engineers are reportedly struggling with software bugs and performance issues, raising concerns about whether the assistant will be ready in time.

With iOS 18.4 expected in April, Apple is running out of time to perfect these new capabilities. While the developer beta is set to launch as early as next week, Apple may decide to disable the AI-driven Siri features by default and enable them later in iOS 18.5 once they are more refined.

What Else Is Coming with iOS 18.4?

Alongside Siri’s upgrades, Apple is also improving other areas of its software ecosystem, including:

• AI-Powered Mail Sorting: Already available on iPhone, this feature will soon be available on iPad and Mac with iPadOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4
• Enhanced Notifications: A priority notification interface will help highlight important alerts
• New Sketch Styles in Image Playground: A creative update for generating images
• Advanced App Controls for Smart Home Devices: Supporting Apple’s upcoming smart home hub

What This Means for Apple Users

If Apple decides to delay Siri’s AI-powered features, it could also push back other updates originally planned for iOS 19. Given the growing competition in AI, Apple is under pressure to deliver a more intelligent and reliable digital assistant while ensuring a smooth user experience.

For now, all eyes are on iOS 18.4 and iOS 18.5, as Apple navigates these engineering challenges to bring a more capable Siri to its ecosystem.