Apple Intelligence just ran into more bad news — and Siri is the problem

(Image credit: Future photo illustration)

If you've been eagerly awaiting the shiny new version of Siri Apple promised back in June, you might be in for a much longer wait than expected. New rumors hint that Apple may not roll out a true conversational version of Siri until 2026 or even 2027.

Apple announced its Apple Intelligence AI platform at WWDC 2024, including a much-needed update to Siri. That was almost a year ago now, and we have yet to see many of those new AI features. To make matters worse, the rumored release date for the Siri update has been bumped back multiple times.

The latest hints highlight just how far behind Apple has fallen on AI. It begs the question: when a large language model version of Siri finally arrives, will it be too late for Apple to catch up?

Apple's long-awaited Siri update rumored to be years behind its rivals

On Sunday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Apple's big Siri update may be even further behind than initially predicted. Earlier this year, rumors indicated that a Siri update will arrive in iOS 18.4 this spring. While that could still happen, it looks like it will not be a major overhaul complete with large language model (LLM) technology similar to that of ChatGPT.

According to Gurman, Apple rushed to get Apple Intelligence ready to launch with iOS 18, which didn't leave enough time to properly integrate the new AI tech into Apple's operating systems. It also left Apple short on time to get the LLM version of Siri ready to go. However, Apple still plans to get Apple Intelligence fused into its operating systems more seamlessly.

As Gurman explained, "I expect this to be introduced as early as Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June of this year — with a launch by spring 2026 as part of iOS 19.4. The new system, dubbed "LLM Siri" internally, was also supposed to introduce a more conversational approach. But that is now running behind as well and won’t be unveiled in June.

Not only will LLM Siri not arrive in June, it might not arrive even in 2026. According to Gurman, employees in Apple's AI division have hinted that "a true modernized, conversational version of Siri won’t reach consumers until iOS 20 at best in 2027."

Alexa+ is what Apple Intelligence should have been

A three year delay is not a good look for an update that was announced in 2024, especially as Apple's rivals in the consumer AI space barrel ahead, leaving Siri in the dust. One in particular has caught my attention: Alexa+.

Last week, Amazon announced Alexa+, a sprawling new version of its AI assistant that integrates with its smart home and streaming devices. I have to admit, the features Amazon showed off sound legitimately useful and interesting, and that's coming from someone who's never been a particularly big fan of Alexa or Echo devices. In fact, it's hard not to look at Alexa+ and see everything Siri could have been.

Among the 50+ features Amazon announced, Alexa+ can interact with users through natural conversation, remember and recognize members of your household, keep track of personalized routines and reminders for different people, summarize activity from smart home devices, help you navigate video content on Prime Video, recommend movies and shows based on natural conversations, and more.

Those features go well beyond the basic chat and search functionality of ChatGPT. I can see ways Alexa+ could be legitimately helpful in everyday life, not just for generating an email draft or a custom emoji.

I would have loved to see Apple roll out something similar that integates with, say, AppleTV. While Apple doesn't have as much of a presence in smart home tech, it does have a huge collection of well-integrated devices it could bring similar practical features to. That just leaves the lackluster handful of Apple Intelligence features we've already seen look even more disappointing.

For Apple's sake, I hope the rumors are wrong and that LLM Siri overhaul is arriving soon. Unfortunately, it might already be too late for Apple to make an impact in AI unless it gives Siri the makeover of the century.

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Stevie Bonifield is a contributing writer at Laptop Mag specializing in mobile tech, gaming gear, and accessories. Outside of writing, Stevie loves indie games, TTRPGs, and building way too many custom keyboards.