Don’t get your hopes up for AI-enabled Siri in iOS 26.4

iOS 26.4 Could Be a Total Flop as Apple’s Siri AI Overhaul Stalls Yet Again

If you were holding your breath for Siri’s long-awaited AI transformation to arrive in the next iOS update, it’s time to exhale—and possibly start mourning. According to multiple insider reports, Apple’s much-hyped artificial intelligence upgrade for its digital assistant is nowhere near ready, forcing yet another delay that could leave iOS 26.4 feeling like a minor maintenance patch instead of the revolutionary leap forward Apple promised.

The AI-enhanced Siri was originally slated to debut last spring as part of Apple’s broader “Apple Intelligence” initiative. The company painted an ambitious picture: a Siri that could understand context better, access your personal data to deliver smarter responses, and perform complex in-app actions with simple voice commands. But what sounded revolutionary on stage has proven devilishly difficult to deliver in reality.

Apple’s engineers are now reportedly spreading the AI features across multiple future updates as they grapple with persistent technical issues. Internal test builds of iOS 26.4 are plagued with reliability and performance problems, according to Bloomberg’s sources familiar with Apple’s internal plans. This has forced the company to reconsider not just the timing, but potentially the scope of what will make it into the next release.

The most advanced Siri AI capabilities appear to be slipping to iOS 26.5, expected around May, with some features potentially delayed all the way to iOS 27 this autumn. One of the most anticipated features—enhanced access to personal data—would allow Siri to pull information from messages and emails to complete complex requests. But this functionality is reportedly among those struggling to meet Apple’s quality standards.

Perhaps most tellingly, Apple is having significant trouble with “app intents,” one of the most complex AI-enabled features. This would let users say something like “Hey Siri, send the email I drafted to April and Lilly,” and have Siri understand the app context and execute the action flawlessly. As Bloomberg reports, “Apple employees testing iOS 26.5 say early support for these features exists, but they don’t function reliably in all cases.”

What this means for everyday users is that while a first developer beta of iOS 26.4 is expected later this month with some incremental Siri improvements, the transformative capabilities that were meant to mark a significant leap forward for Apple’s voice assistant are now apparently in flux. The update could end up being a relatively minor release focused on bug fixes and small enhancements rather than the AI revolution many were anticipating.

To be clear, Apple hasn’t publicly confirmed specific feature shipments or timing for these delayed AI functions, instead promising that new capabilities will arrive “in the coming year.” But the ongoing delays underscore the difficulty Apple faces in catching up to competitors in the rapidly advancing generative AI space.

Rivals like Google and OpenAI have rolled out more sophisticated conversational assistants and chatbot interfaces, intensifying pressure on Apple to deliver a compelling Siri upgrade. Ironically, Apple turned to Google to help power the AI overhaul of Siri, but that partnership isn’t turning out to be the quick solution the company hoped for.

With developers and users alike watching closely, Apple’s ability to execute on its long-promised AI vision remains an open question. The company that once defined innovation in personal technology now finds itself playing catch-up in the AI era, and the stumbles with Siri’s transformation suggest that the road ahead may be longer and more complicated than anyone expected.

As iOS 26.4 approaches, the excitement that once surrounded Apple’s AI ambitions has given way to a more sobering reality: sometimes the future takes longer to arrive than promised, and even tech giants can struggle to turn visionary promises into working products. For now, Siri’s AI revolution remains just that—a vision still waiting to become reality.

Tags: iOS 26.4, Siri AI, Apple Intelligence, digital assistant, generative AI, tech delays, Apple vs Google, OpenAI competition, app intents, personal data access, software update, iPhone features, voice assistant, AI transformation, tech industry news

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