Apple Likely Targeting iOS 19 for Delayed Siri Features

Apple today shared a somewhat vague statement announcing that some of its planned Apple Intelligence Siri features will take longer than expected to develop, and it's sounding like those ‌Siri‌ capabilities aren't going to be implemented until iOS 19.

apple intelligence black
Apple's statement, for context:

"Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we've made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We've also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It's going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year."

"In the coming year" isn't exactly concrete, and could be interpreted as in the next 12 months, or as 2026. If it's taken as in the next 12 months, that leaves room for a launch that's still part of iOS 18, but 2026 is firmly iOS 19. Direct Apple acknowledgements of product delays are uncommon, and if Apple was on track to introduce the ‌Siri‌ features in ‌iOS 18‌, would the company bother to make a delay announcement at all? It seems unlikely. For that reason alone, there's a good chance Apple has pushed the feature set to iOS 19.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber has come to a similar conclusion, suggesting Apple's "years" refer to product years that start at WWDC. It is his opinion that Apple is subtly suggesting an iOS 19 launch timeline.

Reading between the lines, and based on my PhD-level fluency in Cupertino-ese, what Apple is saying here is that these "more personalized Siri" features are being punted from this year's OS cycle to next year's: to iOS 19 and MacOS 16. Apple's years in this context aren't calendar years, but Apple's OS product years. Those years effectively start at WWDC.

Further, both Reuters and CNBC interpreted Apple's statement as a delay of the ‌Siri‌ features until 2026, and wrote headlines stating as much. If Apple was only counting on a delay of a couple of months, it's likely the company would correct the 2026 assumption, but Apple has offered no further clarification nor has it asked for those sites to change their wording.

We'll get the first iOS 19 update in September 2025 alongside new iPhones, so if 2026 ends up being accurate, the ‌Siri‌ features might not even come in the iOS 19 release. They'll instead be slated for a future iOS 19 update, perhaps iOS 19.2 or iOS 19.3.

The vague wording of Apple's statement gives it some runway to tweak launch timing. The company has up to 12 months to provide the promised ‌Siri‌ functionality after admitting to a delay, so there's a good chance Apple is aiming for the September iOS 19 release, but tempering expectations in case it takes longer.

Apple announced the personalized ‌Apple Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ features at WWDC 2024, and initially said the functionality would come in ‌iOS 18‌. Rumors suggested Apple was aiming for an iOS 18.4 release, but couldn't meet that timeline. Until now, there was still hope for a launch in iOS 18.5 or iOS 18.6, but there are strong implications that the feature set is going to be bundled into iOS 19 or an update to iOS 19.

The ‌Siri‌ features that we're waiting on include personal context to allow ‌Siri‌ to keep track of emails, messages, files, photos, and more, and deeper app integration that lets ‌Siri‌ do more in and across apps.

Apple is also working on an LLM version of ‌Siri‌ similar to ChatGPT and Google Gemini, and while that was initially planned for the iOS 19 update, it now seems Apple is going to hold it until iOS 20.

Update: Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that the ‌Siri‌ features "won't be released until next year at the earliest." Some people in Apple's AI division think the features could even be "scrapped altogether and rebuilt from scratch.

There are some concerns that fixing ‌Siri‌ could require more powerful hardware, which would mean Apple needs to reduce its feature set or make the models run more slowly on current devices.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

H. Flower Avatar
18 weeks ago
They lost me in the first sentence: "Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly"
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GfPQqmcRKUvP Avatar
18 weeks ago
Absolute clown show of software development at Apple.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abatabia Avatar
18 weeks ago
What a disaster. Truly needs a back to the drawing board moment.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Acidsplat Avatar
18 weeks ago
Apple completely missing the AI revolution is a huge fumble, and now it's taking them years to catch up.
iPhones have had neural engines for how many years now?
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zachz Avatar
18 weeks ago
Scrap Siri and redo it or give it up. She’s horrible
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Soba Avatar
18 weeks ago
Apple is light years behind their competition in the AI space. Siri has languished mostly unchanged and deficient for over a decade, yet somehow Apple thought they could catch up and build everything they needed in-house in less than 18 months.

A lot of things are broken at Apple and there is a major need to clean house.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)