Internal company discussions from Apple reveal ongoing problems with Siri and AI development. Apple postponed all forthcoming Siri updates, which they announced through AI advancements back in June 2022. The uncertainty regarding these features has become so severe that Apple itself cannot provide a definite release date.
Bloomberg reported that Siri senior director Robby Walker conducted an all-hands meeting that exposed internal skepticism about the product’s upcoming direction. Walker described the delay as an “ugly” situation before he admitted to his team’s obstacles. The company plans to include these features in iOS 19, but the release remains uncertain. The company focuses its resources on urgent projects, which it considers more important than Siri development.
During the meeting, Apple’s Siri development team faced conflicts with their marketing department. The communications team at Apple promoted Siri features that required understanding personal context and taking actions based on on-screen content, although these capabilities remained unfinished, according to Walker. The hasty marketing campaign forced Apple to withdraw an iPhone 16 advertisement that featured delayed functionalities because it failed to meet customer expectations. According to reports, these enhancements were dropped because of quality problems resulting in failure rates of 33% or higher.
The progress of Siri has become a direct personal responsibility for Apple executives Craig Federighi and John Giannandrea. Walker confirmed to staff members that Apple maintains its dedication to developing Siri with enhanced capabilities while assuring the new features will arrive only after they function optimally.
The company faces growing pressure to transform Siri into its promised intelligent assistant because Apple trails behind competitors in AI development.
