Apple has confirmed a delay in rolling out new artificial intelligence features for its Siri voice assistant, potentially setting back its efforts to compete with AI advancements from rivals such as Google and Amazon. The company stated on Friday that some anticipated capabilities would take “longer than we thought” to materialize.
The delay affects features initially unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, when the company introduced Apple Intelligence, a broad initiative to integrate generative AI into its products. These enhancements were expected to make Siri more intelligent, deeply integrated with devices, and personalized to users.
Despite Apple’s efforts, including partnerships with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and investments in cloud infrastructure for secure AI processing, some key promised features have been postponed. Among them is “on-screen awareness,” which would allow Siri to extract information from messages, such as identifying an address and saving it to contacts upon request. Another affected feature is Siri’s ability to perform actions within apps, such as retrieving specific photos based on user prompts.
Apple now expects these features to roll out “in the coming year,” raising the possibility that they may not be available until 2026. The company has not provided an official reason for the delay.
This setback follows other recent challenges in Apple’s software development, including the removal of AI-generated news summaries due to errors and user complaints about voice-to-text glitches. The delays highlight Apple’s struggle to keep up with the AI revolution reshaping the tech industry.
Competitors have moved ahead with their AI-powered voice assistants. Google’s Gemini AI has been integrated into Samsung’s latest smartphone lineup, and OpenAI has enhanced ChatGPT’s voice capabilities. Amazon recently unveiled an upgraded, more conversational version of its Alexa assistant.
More than two years after OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched a new AI race, Apple appears to be trailing not just Google and Amazon but also AI-focused startups like Anthropic and xAI. Analysts believe that revamping Siri could be a crucial differentiator in driving sales of new Apple devices. However, iPhone 16 sales have shown no clear evidence of an AI-related boost.
Apple Intelligence also remains available only in English and its regional variations, limiting its adoption among the company’s global user base. While additional language support is expected next month, the delay in other features has raised concerns about Apple’s competitive positioning.
In China, where Apple faces mounting pressure from local competitors, the company has had to navigate regulatory hurdles to integrate AI into its devices. A recently announced partnership with Alibaba is seen as a strategic move to strengthen Apple’s AI presence in the Chinese market.
Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, described Apple Intelligence as a rare “false start” for the company, suggesting that Apple rushed its AI initiative in response to industry enthusiasm.
