Siri and Apple Intelligence: What went wrong

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Apple has big plans for Siri - but they seem to have stalled. On Friday, the company officially announced that some of the announced new Siri features in iOS 18 will not appear as planned. Features such as personal context, on-screen awareness and in-app actions will now only be released "next year". This delay was not entirely surprising, as there had already been indications of problems. But now it's official. Apple itself does not give any exact reasons for the delay, but reports, including from Bloomberg, provide some insight into why Siri could not be further developed as planned.

Siri was supposed to get a major upgrade in iOS 18. The new functions were supposed to make the voice assistant significantly more intelligent and enable deeper integration into the system. Apple relied on so-called Apple Intelligence, a combination of generative AI and smart voice control. But now users have to wait a little longer. A look behind the scenes shows that Apple is struggling with structural and technical challenges. There are problems with the Siri infrastructure, internal doubts about the quality of the new functions and apparently also leadership problems in the responsible teams (via Bloomberg).

Two Siri systems instead of a unified platform

One of the biggest problems lies in Siri's infrastructure. Apple didn't have time to develop a unified backend for the new and old Siri functions. Instead, there are two different systems in iOS 18:

A system for classic Siri commands such as setting timers or making calls
A second system for the new, more complex functions that can access personal user data

This leads to a complicated architecture that makes development difficult. The new features have to coexist with the old system, which causes problems. This interim solution should allow Apple to equip Siri with new features more quickly. But in practice, this does not seem to work smoothly. Apple is therefore planning to release a unified system with iOS 19. But this probably means that the new Siri features will not be fully usable until then.

Internal problems and technical difficulties

Things don't seem to be going well behind the scenes either. Bloomberg reports that Apple's developers are working hard to fix a number of bugs. The engineers seem to agree that the new Siri features will not be available until 2026 at the earliest - possibly with iOS 19.3 or even later. According to internal reports, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi is not happy with the current state of Siri development. He and other executives have found that the features do not work as Apple originally advertised in their personal tests. This is another sign that Siri is not yet ready for the market.

Doubts about the leadership of the AI department

In addition to technical problems, there are also internal discussions about the management of Apple's AI department. Some employees believe that there are fundamental problems in management. They fear that without changes in management, Apple could fall further behind competitors such as OpenAI or Google. There are even voices calling for Tim Cook or the Apple board to intervene and make structural changes in the AI area. It is unclear whether this will happen. But one thing is certain: Apple is under great pressure to keep up with developments in the field of artificial intelligence.

What does this mean for users?

For Apple users, the delay means that they have to wait longer for the promised Siri improvements. Some of the new AI features in iOS 18 will only be unlocked with a later update - so they will not be fully usable until iOS 19. This could be problematic for Apple, because the competition never sleeps. While companies like Google and OpenAI already offer advanced language models and AI-powered assistants, Apple has yet to prove that it can keep up in the AI field.

Siri update delayed – and the competition overtakes it

The delay in the new Siri functions shows that Apple still has a number of challenges to overcome. Problems with the Siri infrastructure, technical difficulties and possibly management problems have meant that Apple cannot release the new functions as planned. It remains to be seen whether Apple will manage to develop a uniform system for Siri with iOS 19 and deliver the promised features. Until then, users will have to be patient - or look for alternatives. Discover a whole range of useful tips and tricks about Apple Intelligence! Here you will find everything Important information to make the most of the smart features of your Apple devices – have fun browsing and trying them out! The best products for you: Our Amazon Storefront offers a wide range of accessories, including for HomeKit. (Photo by Unsplash / appshunter.io)