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Apple users expect exciting features and technological advances with each new iOS version. But with iOS 19, Apple is taking a different approach. Instead of introducing brand new functions, the focus is on further expanding existing Apple intelligence features and integrating them into more apps. There will be no major AI innovations for the time being - and the planned improvement of Siri is also being delayed.
Since the introduction of Apple Intelligence, Apple has been increasingly relying on artificial intelligence, but the implementation has not gone smoothly so far. Above all, the promises surrounding an improved Siri have remained unfulfilled. Apple is struggling to keep up with the competition from OpenAI, Google and Microsoft. That's why iOS 19 will be less of a revolutionary update and more of a phase of improvement. This means: no groundbreaking AI innovations at WWDC 2025, but an expanded distribution of existing functions across the entire Apple ecosystem.
Focus on existing Apple Intelligence functions
According to Mark Gurman, Apple will not introduce any new AI features in iOS 19, but will optimize existing technologies and integrate them into more apps (via Bloomberg). It is unclear what this means in concrete terms, but there are a few obvious possibilities:
- Existing Apple Intelligence features such as summaries or text creation could be used in other apps
- Apple could provide an API for developers to enhance third-party apps with Apple Intelligence
- The overall performance and efficiency of existing AI applications is likely to be improved
This means that there is no real upgrade for artificial intelligence; instead, Apple is concentrating on gradually refining the features already available.
Delay in Siri improvements
A key criticism of Apple is the stagnating development of Siri. While other companies have already developed highly advanced AI assistants, Siri remains comparatively inflexible and limited. The planned conversational Siri, which was intended to enable more natural interaction, has been postponed to iOS 20. However, iOS 19.4 could at least introduce the new "LLM Siri" backend. That would be a first step towards making Siri future-proof, even if the actual improvement in voice control will only come later.
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No major AI innovations at WWDC
Anyone who was looking forward to spectacular AI announcements at WWDC will probably be disappointed. Apple will focus on further integrating existing Apple Intelligence functions into the system. It is still unclear whether Apple will provide an API for developers. If that is the case, third-party apps could have full access to Apple Intelligence for the first time.
iOS 19: Fine-tuning instead of technological revolution
With iOS 19, Apple is focusing on optimization rather than innovation. The update will primarily expand existing AI functions and bring them into more apps without introducing fundamentally new features. The hoped-for further development of Siri is delayed and major AI innovations are not forthcoming. Apple is therefore taking a year to fulfill existing promises before potentially greater progress follows with iOS 20. Anyone who was hoping for revolutionary innovations will probably have to be patient. (Photo by Unsplash / Sunrise King)
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