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Apple unveiled big plans for Siri at WWDC 2024. The assistant was supposed to be more personal, intelligent, and powerful. But now it's clear that many of the announced features won't be rolled out as promised. In an internal meeting, Robby Walker, Senior Director of Siri and Information Intelligence, spoke surprisingly openly about the problems. He called the delays "ugly" and "embarrassing." This demonstrates the enormity of the challenges Apple is currently facing.
Siri is at the center of Apple's new AI offensive, but implementation is stalling. The company had planned to deliver the improved features with iOS 18 but has now had to postpone them until next year. Now, it's said that's by no means certain. While competitors like Google and OpenAI are already bringing powerful AI assistants to market, Apple is still struggling with fundamental issues. The delay is causing not only disappointment among users but also frustration internally.
Siri falls short of expectations
Apple announced many new Siri features at WWDC 2024. Plans included improved personalization, more in-app actions, and on-screen awareness. These features were intended to make Siri significantly more useful. However, in their current form, they only work error-free in 66 to 80 percent of cases. For Apple, that's not enough. Therefore, the company has decided to postpone the launch indefinitely. In the internal meeting, Robby Walker made it clear that Apple is continuing to work on these features but cannot guarantee when they will be ready. The goal is to integrate them into iOS 19, but that is not certain. Work on other software and hardware projects currently has priority. Decisions about the schedule will be made on a case-by-case basis (via Bloomberg).
Criticism of Apple management
Walker is particularly critical of the marketing department's decision to present the new Siri features at WWDC 2024. He argues this only unnecessarily increased the pressure on the development team. At the time of the announcement, there was only a working prototype. Apple has thus publicly demonstrated features that are still far from market-ready. This is unusual for Apple. The company usually only shows finished products. This time it was different, and it's now taking its toll. Walker commented:
This wasn't one of those situations where we show people our plan after it's already finished. We showed it to people beforehand.
Apple doesn't want to make a hasty decision
Despite the delay, Apple remains committed to its strategy of only releasing mature products. Walker emphasized that the company wants to keep the bar high. Even if competitors launch unfinished AI assistants, Apple will not go down that path. He praised the Siri team for their work so far and said the developers should be proud of their achievements. But Apple wants to ensure that the new features are truly reliable before they are released. Walker compared the situation to a long swimming race:
We swam hundreds of miles—we set a Guinness World Record for the distance—but we still didn't swim to Hawaii. And we were made fun of, not because we swam so well, but because we didn't reach our goal.
Changes in management possible
According to Bloomberg's sources, no layoffs are currently planned within Apple's management. However, adjustments within the team are possible. John Giannandrea, Apple's senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy, and software chief Craig Federighi are said to have "intense personal ownership" of the project. Apple may reassign some senior executives to accelerate development.
Siri remains a work in progress – Apple is looking for solutions
Apple is in the midst of an AI offensive, but the delays with Siri show that the company still has major hurdles to overcome. While Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft are already presenting AI assistants with impressive capabilities, Apple is still working on the groundwork. The new Siri features are expected to arrive, but when is unclear. Apple continues to pursue its goal of developing one of the best digital assistants, but the competition isn't sleeping. Whether the patience of users and investors will ultimately pay off remains to be seen. (Image: Apple)
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