The iOS 26.5 beta that Apple released today includes no new Apple Intelligence Siri functionality, which suggests we're going to be waiting until iOS 27 to see any of the promised Siri features.
Apple was initially targeting iOS 26.4 for new Siri capabilities, but in February, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the company wasn't going to make that goal due to ongoing accuracy issues. He said that Apple could postpone some or all of the new Siri features until iOS 26.5 and iOS 27.
At the time, Apple engineers were apparently using iOS 26.5 for internal Siri testing, and the employees said the update included all of the Apple Intelligence Siri features that Apple promised back at WWDC 2024, but there are no signs of those additions to Siri now that the beta is available to developers.
It's possible that Siri features could come in a later beta of iOS 26.5, but that's looking less and less likely as we get closer to June and the iOS 27 WWDC debut.
Last week, Gurman said that iOS 27 would include a standalone Siri chatbot app and all of the Apple Intelligence Siri features, indicating members of the public won't get a smarter Siri until iOS 27 launches in September 2026.
When Apple introduced Apple Intelligence Siri in June 2024, it said the feature set would launch in an update to iOS 26 coming in 2025. When spring 2025 rolled around, Apple announced a delay and said that Siri was not ready and needed more time. After that setback, Apple made no promise other than saying the revamped version of Siri would launch in 2026.
Behind-the-scenes rumors suggested Apple was targeting iOS 26.4 and development was further delayed, but Apple never publicly mentioned the iOS 26.4 update. As long as Apple launches the new Siri features before December 2026, it will be on track to deliver what it promised.
The version of Siri that Apple has planned for iOS 27 will go above and beyond what was demonstrated at WWDC 2024. Siri is turning into a full chatbot, with a standalone Siri app and feature set that will put the personal assistant on par with Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI chatbots.
