Recently, the media has been consistently reporting on Apple facing a series of challenges in developing a new version of its proprietary assistant, Siri, which is expected to be powered by artificial intelligence algorithms. The company has postponed the launch of its new Apple Intelligence AI features, and it remains unclear when they will be available. Judging by recent internal discussions, even Apple developers are uncertain about the timeline.
This conclusion is based on information shared during an internal meeting of the Siri development team, attended by Robby Walker, one of the top managers overseeing the project. During the meeting, Walker described the delay in rolling out the AI features as “an ugly situation” and expressed sympathy for employees who feel fatigued and disappointed by the company’s decisions and Siri’s negative public image. He also acknowledged the possibility that the new Siri features may not be included in iOS 19 this year, although that remains Apple’s current objective.
“We have commitments to other Apple projects. We want to deliver on those, and we recognize that they are potentially more urgent than the features that have been delayed,” Walker said.
Internal Tensions and Quality Concerns
The meeting further revealed signs of friction between the Siri team and Apple’s marketing department. Walker pointed out that the PR team wanted to highlight Siri’s abilities to understand individual context and perform actions based on the device’s screen content — despite those features not being ready. He admitted that the public announcement at WWDC and the expectations it created among users only complicated the situation. Consequently, Apple has since removed the iPhone 16 advertisement showcasing these features and updated several sections of its website to reflect the delay, reminds NIXsolutions.
Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reported that the postponement stems from quality issues, stating that “they don’t work properly up to a third of the time.” Apple has not issued any detailed public comments, aside from a recent statement that the development of enhanced Siri capabilities “will take longer than expected.”
According to sources, Walker informed employees that Apple’s senior leadership, including software engineering vice president Craig Federighi and AI head John Giannandrea, take “serious personal responsibility” for the current situation.
“Not only do customers expect these new features, but they also expect a more advanced Siri. We’ll deliver them as soon as they’re ready. They’re not quite ready for the general public yet, even though our competitors have launched similar or worse versions,” Walker added, emphasizing that the team has already achieved “impressive” progress. For now, we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.